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The same note on two staves

I have put red arrows where I am in trouble. As I understand this, I should hit D but it is already pressed down. Do I misunderstand something or it is a typo?

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Similar: The same note on two staves? – ire_and_curses Nov 26 '11 at 17:18
Yes, thanks :) I added the notation tag to this question. – Ali Nov 27 '11 at 8:53

marked as duplicate by luser droog, Matthew Read♦ Nov 28 '11 at 18:15

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In cases like this you should play the second D, cutting the first one slightly short to accommodate it. It's not a typo, just a choice by the arranger to take the least complicated & most readable approach to notating the music. Think of the printed music as communicating the intended sound, rather than exact movements of your fingers, and it should make more sense.

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+1 for the "communicating the intended sound" comment. That's the purpose of notation, and it's not, nor should it ever be, a perfect system. – Josh Fields Nov 26 '11 at 15:44
+1 and welcome to the site! – jadarnel27 Nov 26 '11 at 16:19
+1 and thanks. As for "communicating the intended sound" I cannot read mind (yet :) ), only sheet-music. – Ali Nov 26 '11 at 20:15
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Here's one way to think of the "intended sound": this music has three "voices"--a melody voice, a bass voice, and a middle harmony voice. It just happens that on the last eighth note of the second bar, the melody voice and the middle voice are playing the same note. No problem, just play it as Ben suggested. If you think about it in terms of voices, that will help you to get an idea of what the composer intended. – Alex Basson Nov 26 '11 at 22:31
Yes, my first guess was exactly what Ben writes because that's the only way that makes sense. Long story short, apparently you are allowed to break the rules a little to keep the notation simple. – Ali Nov 27 '11 at 8:49
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