\chapter{Font-based Slurs, Ties and Hairpins} Two fundamentally different implementations of slurs, ties, and hairpins are available. First, there are the original \ital{font-based} versions. These are constructed with traditional \TeX\ font characters that were created with \MF\ and stored in \TeX\ font files. Second, it is now possible to generate these shapes directly with Postscript, dispensing altogether with the font characters\footnote{Please do not be confused by the availability of Postscript versions of the font-based slur fonts (along with all other \musixtex\ fonts). Once installed in a \TeX\ system, their function and use are 100\% transparently identical with bitmapped versions of the slur fonts. On the other hand, Postscript slurs are functionally distinct from font-based slurs, and only share some of the same syntax.}. We shall first describe the font-based versions, then Type~K Postscript slurs, which are one of two available Postscript slur options\footnote{An alternate approach to Postscript slurs, called {\it Type~M} after its developer Hiroaki {\sc Morimoto}, is available from the \href{http://icking-music-archive.org/software/indexmt6.html} {\underline{Icking Music Archive}}.}. If you plan to use Type~K Postscript slurs, you may skip directly to Chapter~\ref{PostscriptSlurs}. Font-based slurs and ties provided by \musixtex\ can be divided into two categories: \label{simpleslur} \begin{itemize}\setlength{\itemsep}{0ex} \item Those where the complete slur symbol is composed of a single character from one of the slur fonts, and \item those where the slur symbol is composed of three distinct characters, to form the beginning, middle and end of the slur. \end{itemize} The former are called \ital{simple slurs} and the latter, \ital{compound slurs}. In many cases the distinction between the two is invisible to the user, in that many of the macros described below will automatically select between the two types. However, there are other macros that allow simple slurs to be forced. The next few sections describe the usual method of slur coding, where the choice between simple or compound slurs is made automatically. In this case, slurs are initiated and terminated by separate macros, similar to beams. \section{Font-based slur initiation} A slur must be initiated \ital{before} the spacing note on which the slur begins, and terminated \ital{before} the note on which it ends. The basic slur initiation macro is \keyindex{isluru}\enpee, which initiates an upper slur, with reference number $n$, beginning on a note at pitch $p$. The starting point of the slur is centered above a virtual quarter note head at pitch~$p$\footnote{The slur will start in the same place regardless of whether there is {\it actually} a note at pitch $p$.}. Similarly, \keyindex{islurd}\enpee\ initiates a lower slur. These slurs are terminated by coding \keyindex{tslur}\enpee\ where $n$ is the reference number and $p$ is the termination pitch. As with beams, the reference number $n$ by default can take values from $0$ to $5$, or up to $8$ or $11$ respectively if \ttxem{musixadd.tex} or \ttxem{musixmad.tex} is included. You can also specify the maximum number directly with \keyindex{setmaxslurs}\verb|{|$m$\verb|}| where $7