Schleppend

As Printed on a Score

Most often printed negated — nicht schleppend, aber nie schleppend — as part of a heading. On its own, sometimes in parentheses, it asks for a deliberate dragging over a passage, usually with a heavy or tired character word nearby.

How Composers Use It

As an instruction, a deliberate heaviness or reluctance in the beat, a dramatic effect for exhaustion or oppression. Much more often you will meet it as a warning in a slow heading. Be clear which you intend: schleppend on its own asks for the very thing nicht schleppend forbids.

Example

Wagner, Wesendonck-Lieder, No. 3, “Im Treibhaus”, piano, m. 38: “(schleppend)” at p, with “(schwer)” nearby, in a song headed “Langsam und schwer”.

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