Articulation and phrasing

Breath mark

Make a brief lift before the next phrase, like a singer taking breath.

See it in the score

A breath after D in Boulanger's Deux Ancolies From Deux ancolies (piano part) by Lili Boulanger, source measure 11.

Passage playback follows the literal encoded notes, rhythm, tempo, and written directions in this excerpt. It is a study aid, not a model of a pianist's touch, phrasing, ornament realization, or pedal technique.

In a sentence

Make a brief lift before the next phrase, like a singer taking breath.

Borrowed from vocal notation, the breath mark shows where a line can release and renew. In piano music it often clarifies a song-like phrase or coordinated lift between hands.

Its duration is contextual rather than metronomically fixed. Preserve the underlying pulse while making the boundary audible.