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Articulation and phrasing

Caesura

Interrupt the musical flow for a distinct, expressive pause.

See it in the score

Caesura at source measure 153 in Satie's Mort de Socrate

The curved break interrupts the steady declamation before the next phrase.

Open measure 154 in the piece
Caesura at source measure 153 in Satie's Mort de Socrate From Mort de Socrate (piano part) by Erik Satie, source measure 153.

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

Interrupt the musical flow for a distinct, expressive pause.

Caesura means a cut or break. It creates audible punctuation in the phrase, often separating two ideas more decisively than a quick breath.

The pause is interpreted from style and context. These three catalogue passages are the complete reviewed caesura set and show the sign at different structural moments in one extended work.