This is from carol of the bells.
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3Where did you get that from? It doesn't make much sense for piano. Also those notes are E5 not D4.– Elements in SpaceDec 2, 2021 at 12:56
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8That sheet music wasn’t created very well. I wouldn’t worry too much about anything strange you find in it - it probably shouldn’t be there. In this case, there’s no point in having those duplicate notes and they are probably a mistake. Other mistakes include the use of the bass clef on the lower staff and usually “RH” and “LH” are not written in because it’s understood and instead there would be a brace joining the staves.– Todd WilcoxDec 2, 2021 at 13:17
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1Just leaving the note, if this were for a different instrument, it could mean an interval of a unison. On violin, for instance, you can play an E on two different strings at the same time, as a "double stop."– Andy BonnerDec 2, 2021 at 13:51
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1That E could be a poorly notated third voice: the descending dotted-half notes that are added to the ostinato and harmonic background.– Richard ♦Dec 2, 2021 at 14:10
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7@Terry I respectfully recommend you try and find another score to use. This notation is, frankly, a bit of a nightmare.– Richard ♦Dec 2, 2021 at 17:05
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3 Answers
Thank you for adding more context (it make it much easier to diagnose).
When looking at this excerpt I notice:
"LH" and "RH". Piano music with two staves implies left hand for the bottom stave and right hand for the top. I've never seen this written out before, very strange. Also, there should be a brace contenting these staves into a grand staff.
Very high notes in the bottom staff. The left hand can play notes this high, but it really should be using a treble clef. Three leger lines above bass clef is fine for piano, but five is simply too many without a good reason (there is not a good reason here).
The "double stops" (what your actual question was about).
Some instruments can play the same note twice at the same time (on different strings of a violin for example). But obviously on a piano, a note/key can only be pressed once at a time. However these can occasionally be seen in piano/keyboard music. They are for when different musical voices playing different melodic lines and both "need" to certain note to make musical sense (if they were played in isolation). Looking at the context, this is not what is happening here.
As written it's it doesn't mean anything; it's a mistake. (Perhaps one of the Es got placed in the wrong octave somehow?)
Overall it's clearly engraved quite poorly, and you really should find another version of this music.
answered Dec 3, 2021 at 13:17
That first note isn't even joined to the stem! So a four beat note in 3/4 time sgnature? The whole thing is pretty disastrous, so the best idea is to scrap it, and find a different, better, non-amateurly written out version.
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2@Terry - you can upvote any answer you felt was useful, and accept one answer that you feel is the best for you.– TimDec 3, 2021 at 16:32
That's an accepted way of writing a unison. It might make sense in e.g. harp music, where two strings can play the same pitch. Or other stringed instruments (though most of them couldn't manage all 4 notes!). Yes, the first notehead is slightly distanced from the stem. But there are the right number of dots. The notation, as such, isn't too bad. Sibelius does it much the same (see below).
But, as a piano score, no need to overthink beyond 'it's a rubbish one'. I suspect this is a MIDI file or similar, imported to a notation program by someone not very experienced in notation or piano playing.
answered Dec 2, 2021 at 17:53
