Musical phrase and breathing

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Motives and phrases

A phrase forms a musical span listeners can follow as a directed thought. It need not last four bars. Melody, rhythm and harmony can combine to suggest motion, pause and continuation.

Look beyond bar counts: a sustained target, rest, cadence or returning opening figure can signal a boundary. For voice and wind instruments consider breathing, while recognising that a breath mark and a structural boundary are not always identical. Accompaniment can clarify the phrase by thinning near an ending or preparing the next entrance.

Example

Three bars of motion followed by a long target and rest can form one four-bar example.

Try it

Name two possible clues to a phrase boundary.

Related topics

References

Music Theory for the 21st-Century Classroom

Subject-expert review pending.