Tie
Joining two notes of the same pitch into one longer note
Related
A tie is a curved line joining two notes of the same pitch, meaning "make them one longer note": the second note is not re-attacked, it simply continues the first. Ties often cross barlines so that a long note need not be written with awkward values.
It is most often confused with a slur: a tie joins the same pitch, a slur joins different pitches and marks legato or phrasing. The test is simple: are the two ends the same pitch? Same pitch, tie; different pitches, slur.
Read deeper → Ties and Slurs
Sources
- 延音线与连音线的区别，参 The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, "Tie" 与 "Slur"；本文为原创表述
Used for fact-checking only; all prose is original.