Notation & Symbols

Breath Mark

Definition

A breath mark is a small comma-shaped sign above the staff that shows where a singer or wind player should breathe. For other instruments it asks for a slight break in the sound, taken from the end of the note before it.

A breath mark is a small comma written above the staff, just after a note; some editions use a small tick instead. It shows a place to breathe. For singers and wind and brass players, that is literal: take a breath here. For pianists, string players and anyone else who does not need air to play, it asks for a tiny lift, the sound of the phrase taking a breath. German-speaking musicians call it a Luftpause, an "air pause".

A treble-clef staff in 4/4 with four bars. In bar 2, a small comma stands above the staff just after the half note G, before the quarter notes E and C. The phrase ends on a whole note C. — A four-bar phrase with a breath mark after the half note G in bar 2. The breath is taken out of the G: in the audio it is a little shorter, and the next note still comes in on beat 3.

How to take the breath

Normally the breath comes out of the note before the mark: shorten that note slightly, breathe, and come in on time with the next note. The beat does not stop. That is the main difference from a caesura (two slanted lines), which halts the music for a moment, and from a fermata, which lengthens a note.

Where breath marks appear

In vocal music, at the ends of phrases and at commas and other breaks in the words.
In wind and brass parts, where a long passage offers few natural rests.
In piano and string music, to separate phrases that would otherwise run together.

Players also pencil in their own breath marks. Planning breaths in advance, ideally at the ends of musical phrases rather than in the middle of a word or a melodic line, is part of learning any piece for voice or a wind instrument.

Breath mark and phrasing

A well-placed breath is part of good phrasing: it shows the listener where one musical idea ends and the next begins, just as a pause does in speech. A breath in the wrong place can split a phrase in two.

See the breath mark with other signs in Musical terms & signs, and practice shaping phrases with Phrasing.

Common questions

What does a comma mean in sheet music?

It is a breath mark: breathe, or make a small break, here. Take the time from the end of the note before it, so the beat keeps going.

What is the difference between a breath mark and a caesura?

A breath mark is a short break inside the beat, taken from the note before it. A caesura (two slanted lines) stops the music completely for a moment before it goes on.