Anatomy of a Slur

Left Coast playing techniques teach us to have the control to use many different articulations and to have different qualities of slurs. Sometimes we want the smoothest sound possible, sometimes we want the fastest slurs possible and sometimes we want to smoooosh it up so it’s lush and romantic. We want to be able to control the type of slur we work on the extremes.

However the vast majority of the time we want the quickest, smoothest slurs possible even when playing legato. It simply sounds better.

What is the anatomy of a slur?

Think of a slur as having three parts: the first note, the second note and the time that we are changing from the first to the second.

Many players begin their slurs as soon as they have hit the first note. If the second note is higher then first note tightens and the mouth begins to tense. Sometimes the eyes, shoulders and head raise up! Aack! If the second note is lower the mouth opens and the jaw drops. Oh no!

The first note should be as straight as possible (unless there are phrasing issues).

The air should change first, before the lips or tongue to begin the move to the second note.

The mouth and throat should be relaxed so that the new note can sound and the air can flow.

In general the effort you put into changing notes should happen as quickly as possible. We want to play the first note without hinting whether the next note is higher or lower. We want the energy and movements we make to change notes take up the least amount of time as possible.

Even for legato playing we want the valves to move quickly and the air and embouchure changes should be rapid. The only exceptions are to make a really mushy legato slur.

See Understanding Note Clusters for more hints on making smooth slurs and explains what happens inside the horn as you change from one note to another.

Of all the things that happen when we change notes the air should be the first to move. If the lips or mouth move first we hear that in the note as a decrease in volume, a dulling of the tone color and change in intonation. It also keeps you from aiming at the second note with the air and encourages ‘push and pray’ playing instead of aggressive air playing.

A common problem and one that causes all sorts of horn misery is the air slowing down on the end of the first note of the slur. It is usually caused by the back of the tongue raising up to ‘get ready’ for the new note but this takes our mouth out of position and creates wind resistance! We want to increase the air during the slur. You can learn to do this by playing a crescendo during the first note of the slur and continuing to crescendo during the slur and into the second note.

You want to increase the flow of air during the time the notes are changing. You want to use the increase in air to aim at the new note, especially when the new note is lower. We have this tendency to think of the lower note as easier and taking less air, giving a 'falling' quality to the slur. Evil! Lower notes take more air, not less and decreasing the air and falling makes us hope to get to the right note rather than aiming at it.

Even slight reductions in the air volume at the end of the first note can cause problems. It’s helpful to have a friend listen carefully while you practice this to see if you can eliminate it.