A tie and a slur are both curved lines, but they mean opposite things. A tie connects two notes of the same pitch and combines them into one longer sustained note. A slur connects two or more notes of different pitches and tells you to play them smoothly, or legato. The test is simple: if the two notes under the curve are the same pitch, it is a tie; if they are different pitches, it is a slur. Here is what each one does, how to tell them apart at a glance, and why misreading one for the other changes how the music sounds.
What a tie does
A tie joins two notes of the same pitch into a single duration: you play the note once and hold it for the two values added together. A quarter note tied to an eighth note is not two separate attacks, it is one note sounded once and sustained for the combined length of a quarter plus an eighth. The second note is never struck again; the tie simply extends the first. This is how notation writes a length that a single note symbol cannot show on its own, especially across a barline, where a note has to keep sounding from the end of one measure into the next, or across a beat that no single dotted note lands on cleanly. If you want a refresher on how durations add up, our guide to note values and rhythm covers how each note value is counted.
What a slur does
A slur spans two or more notes of different pitches and tells you to play them smoothly connected, without re-articulating each note. Every note under the slur still sounds as its own pitch, but the transition between them is seamless, with no fresh attack in the middle. How you produce that connection depends on your instrument. On a string instrument, the slurred notes are taken in a single bow stroke. On a wind instrument, they are played in one continuous breath, without re-tonguing. On piano, a slur asks for a smooth legato touch, each finger holding until the next arrives so there is no audible gap between the notes.
How to tell them apart
To tell a tie from a slur, look at the pitches under the curve. The shape of the line is the same for both, so the pitches are the only reliable clue.
- Same pitch. If the curve joins two notes on the same line or space, at the same pitch, it is a tie. The two are held as one sustained note.
- Different pitches. If the curve spans notes at different pitches, it is a slur. You play those notes smoothly connected, each as its own pitch.
- Many varied notes. A single curve arching over a long run of notes at different pitches is a phrase slur, marking a musical phrase to be shaped as one connected line.
Why the difference matters
Misreading a tie as a slur, or the reverse, changes the music in ways a listener hears immediately. Read a tie as a slur and you play the second note again when you were supposed to hold the first one through, adding an attack that should not be there and shortening the intended note. Read a slur as a tie and you hold a single pitch when you were meant to move to a new one, dropping notes the composer wrote. A tie affects rhythm and duration, and it is one of the main tools behind syncopation, where a note is tied across a strong beat to shift the emphasis off it. A slur affects articulation, the way notes are attacked and connected, which we cover alongside volume markings in dynamics and articulation. If you are still building fluency with the staff, start with how to read sheet music, and for quick definitions of the surrounding terms, see the music notation glossary.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a slur and a tie?
A tie and a slur are both curved lines, but they mean opposite things. A tie connects two notes of the same pitch and combines them into one longer sustained note. A slur connects two or more notes of different pitches and tells you to play them smoothly, without re-articulating each one. If the notes under the curve are the same pitch, it is a tie; if they are different pitches, it is a slur.
How can you tell a slur from a tie?
Look at the pitches under the curve. If the curve joins two notes on the same line or space, at the same pitch, it is a tie and the two are held as one sustained note. If the curve spans notes at different pitches, it is a slur and you play those notes smoothly connected. A single curve arching over many notes at varied pitches is a phrase slur.
What does a tie do to the rhythm?
A tie adds the durations of the two same-pitch notes together into one held note, so you strike or bow the note only once and sustain it for the combined value. A quarter note tied to an eighth note sounds as a single note held for a dotted quarter. Ties are how notation sustains a note across a barline or across a beat that no single note symbol can express.
What does a slur tell you to do?
A slur tells you to play the notes under it smoothly and connected, which musicians call legato, without a fresh attack on each note. On a string instrument that means one bow stroke across the slurred notes, on a wind instrument one continuous breath, and on piano a smooth legato touch with no gap between the notes.
Not sure whether a curve in your score should be a tie or a slur? Songscription works that out for you, deciding from the pitches whether to hold a note or connect a phrase when it writes your recording as notation.
