Respiro

As Printed on a Score

Printed above a vocal or wind staff where a breath is to be taken, usually beside or in place of the breath sign (a comma or tick above the staff). It applies to that point only; a caesura (//) means a real break in the pulse.

How Composers Use It

Mark breaths where the phrasing depends on them, not everywhere — singers and wind players plan their own. A marked breath shapes the line for everyone who hears it. If you want an audible gap that halts the pulse, write a caesura or Luftpause; if the breath must not disturb the rhythm, its time comes out of the note before.

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