Atempause

As Printed on a Score

Printed above the staff, usually with a comma- or apostrophe-shaped breath mark, where the whole ensemble takes a brief pause for breath. It occupies only that moment; the music resumes in tempo.

How Composers Use It

An Atempause is a short silence borrowed from the tempo — longer than a snatched breath, shorter than a fermata — that sets off a new phrase or gives a cadence space. Unlike a caesura it should feel natural rather than abrupt. Mark it where all parts should lift together, especially in slow music, where an unmarked breath sounds accidental.

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