Atmen

As Printed on a Score

Printed over a wind, brass or vocal part, often with an exclamation mark (“atmen!”), at the exact point where the player must breathe — typically in a long held line. It applies only to that spot. Older prints spell it athmen.

Also spelled: athmen

How Composers Use It

A breath instruction protects the phrase: by placing the breath yourself, you decide where the line is interrupted. Mahler marks it in sustained low wind and brass lines that would otherwise break at random. Where many players sustain together, staggered breathing is the alternative; atmen at one spot gives a unified, audible break instead.

Example

Mahler, Symphony No. 5, first movement, Contrafagotte, m. 374: “atmen!” — the tuba gets the same command in that bar.

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