The Slur
A slur is a curved line above or below two different notes. It tells you to play the notes smoothly. Playing smoothly is called legato. To play legato, tongue only the first note of the group and keep blowing while you change your finger positions for the other notes.
Tongue only the first note.
Here is a song which makes use of slurs. Some are between two notes while others are between groups of notes.
Staccato
A dot placed under a note tells you to play it staccato. Staccato means to play a note short and separate from other notes. This is the opposite of legato. To play a note staccato, stop your breath as soon as the note sounds.
This song contains both slur and staccato markings. Try learning it from memory and then concentrate on the tonguing techniques.
