Zögernd

As Printed on a Score

Printed above the staff over a phrase or a single gesture that should hesitate, often with a rit. nearby or in parentheses; it applies locally and is cancelled by a tempo, Tempo or the next tempo word. Older editions spell it zoegernd.

Also spelled: zoegernd

How Composers Use It

Hesitating: a slight, uneven holding back, as if the music were unsure whether to go on — more a character than a measured slowing. Mahler and Webern use it for phrases that falter before a cadence or a new idea. Keep the passage short and the texture light so the hesitation reads clearly.

Example

Mahler, Symphony No. 5, Rondo-Finale, first oboe, m. 7: “zögernd”, at p, among the movement’s opening bars.

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