March 2, 201412 yr I always thought of the comma as a breath mark, but I was recently looking through Elaine Gould's 'Behind Bars' notation guide, and, in it, the 'tick' is recommended over the comma. She writes that while the comma does direct the performer to take a breath, it indicates that a small amount of time should be added, for this breath, as opposed to the tick, which takes time off of the note before which it occurs. Good? Bad? Ugly? I'm asking in relation to wind and brass notation.
March 3, 201412 yr I personally have never seen breath marks like that. Breath marks have a variety of definition based on who is teaching. I have been taught that great marks are just a breath, as well as that breath marks take off time from the note before. I personally would stick with breath marks. Im guessing that the tick marks were "trendy" during the time she wrote this or in the area she lives in but the majority would know the meaning of a comma more than they would a tick mark.
March 3, 201412 yr I've seen them marked that way in vocal music too, but only occasionally, and, I think, only on older editions.
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