Breath mark

A breath mark or luftpause is a symbol used in musical notation.

This pause is normally intended to shorten the duration of the preceding note and not to alter the tempo; in this function it can be thought of as a grace rest.

Indeed, a common notation for the breath mark looks very similar to a written comma.

This is false however, and it actually represents that the musician gets a “breath” of time while they are playing.

This misconception is only fueled by books series’s such as Essential Elements that teach breath marks as bow lifts.