Curlicues, small circles, for breath marks when conducting

1. How do you conduct a breath mark?
2. Where do you put your breath marks in music?
3. Is a breath mark an articulation?

How do you conduct a breath mark?

Whether you call it a breath mark, luftpause, or comma, the symbol indicating a breath or slight pause is, uh, comma-n to see in notated music. The marking, according to Elaine Gould in her reference Behind Bars, should be placed “just before a subsequent note or barline.”

Where do you put your breath marks in music?

It is usually placed above the staff and at the ends of phrases. Its function is analogous to the comma in several written languages. Indeed, a common notation for the breath mark looks very similar to a written comma.

Is a breath mark an articulation?

In Finale, a breath mark, or luftpause ( ), is an Articulation; see Articulations. When you create a breath mark using the Articulation Designer dialog box, you can use the H: and V: positioning text boxes to place it automatically just to the right of the note it's attached to.