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A musician can play the same passage of music in lots of different ways. It could be played quiet or loud, fast or slow.

When we read music, words and symbols help us understand how to play it, by telling us the dynamics and tempo.

Words and symbols can also tell us the articulation and phrasing of the music we want to play.

Combining these is known as expression and can help musicians perform in a certain way that will make the listener feel different emotions.

Articulation is the way a note or group of notes should be played. Italian words are used to describe common articulation.

Staccato means 'detached' and is when a note or notes are played short and detached from one another. A dot above or below a note tells you to play it staccato.

Legato means 'tied together' and is when a note or notes are played smoothly with no gaps. A curved line above or below a group of notes tells you those notes should be played legato.

In music, phrasing is the expressive way a musician plays a sequence of notes in a passage of music - a bit like how you tell a story.

When you speak, you might emphasise certain words or speed up and slow down slightly to make a story sound interesting.

Musical phrasing lets you do the same thing when you are singing or playing a melody.

Parts of musical phrasing include:

• deciding when to breathe
• which notes or words to emphasise
• how fast or slow you sing or play

Like with articulation, these things can help you share a certain feeling or mood when playing and performing music.

Watch this clip and listen to how the choir uses phrasing in the correct and incorrect places.

Can you hear how it affects the flow of the song?