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I would like to know what these strange numbers below this legato section of the violin solo sheet of Sarasate's "Zigeunerweisen" ("Gypsy Airs"), Op. 20, measure 7 denote. I know the Roman numeral IV means G string but the 4 & 6 below the A and G make no sense. Can someone please help me — whomever is familiar with "Gypsy Airs".

Sarasate, "Zigeunerweisen", Op. 20, m. 7

I am talking about the circled numbers we can get to the 6 on the other note later

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  • @JulesMay It most definitely means play that on one string. It's not terribly difficult (compared to the rest of the piece) on violin...
    – dalearn
    Jun 10, 2021 at 18:06
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    I think it means that you can only play this if you have 6 or more fingers on your left hand. 😁
    – Theodore
    Jun 10, 2021 at 19:25
  • Ah - sorry - violin. I thought I saw guitar. My bad!
    – Jules May
    Jun 10, 2021 at 20:02

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If you look closely, you'll see that the 4 and 6 have slightly different font size and orientation.

The 4 refers to the finger, the 6 to the sextuplet (in the next bar you can see that the "6" is above the staff).

Writing them next to each other is a terrible idea, as the "6" could have been written on top just like the next bar, and the small slur between them has no reason to be there: it can't be a legato articulation, since the G is already part of another slur.

The scores on IMSLP are more clear.

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    The 6 should be above the beam, like it is on the following beat. Just a bad decision from whoever wrote the score.
    – Edward
    Jun 9, 2021 at 21:55
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    You wrote that the small slur is similar to what happens in the next bar between the C and F♯. But there is no small slur in the next bar and there is a note, an E, between the C and F♯, so what do you mean?
    – Lars Peter Schultz
    Jun 10, 2021 at 10:40
  • @LarsPeterSchultz you're right, I was a bit tired and didn't think about it that much: that slur just makes no sense.
    – musicamante
    Jun 10, 2021 at 13:51

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