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I got this arrangement for beginner piano solo from free-scores website. It has two voices. As you see the time signature is "C"=4/4. In Measure 27 bass clef, one voice is a whole C note, but the other voice has a quarter rest, followed by a quarter E, half F, and quarter A-flat notes, together it adds up to 5/4. In fact Measure 27 is the same as Measure 26 except with an extra A-flat. Is it an error?

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  • Most questions like this come from a music student not understanding the concept of "voices" in keyboard notation. In this case it seems at best to be an error.
    – phoog
    Commented Dec 17, 2023 at 11:50

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It's confusingly written. The intention is that there are three voices in the left hand, with one voice having an (omitted) half rest to begin the measure. It would be more clear if the F half note were written as two tied quarter notes.

Clarified example

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  • Thanks, this is much better (so formally the half rest would also be written?). Do three voices only appear in certain measures, not every measure? Are there three voices in the right hand, too?
    – GrandAdagio
    Commented Dec 17, 2023 at 1:47
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    @GrandAdagio Yes, for three voices, then a half rest should be there. There are occasionally three voices in the arrangement. For example, measure five of what you posted has three voices: one in the left hand and two in the right.
    – Aaron
    Commented Dec 17, 2023 at 1:55
  • If you add the number of voices in right hand and left hand (in Measure 5), then wouldn't there be five voices in Measure 27 (2 right hand +3 left hand), or maybe even 3+3=6? Sorry if I sound clueless, which I am... (my last question)
    – GrandAdagio
    Commented Dec 17, 2023 at 2:07
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    @GrandAdagio Yes, m. 27 would have five voices in total, counting both hands.
    – Aaron
    Commented Dec 17, 2023 at 2:13
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    @GrandAdagio It's also possible that the half note was intended to be a quarter note. Comparing the entire arrangement to the original might shed some light on the matter. But you can certainly see that the arrangement is not strictly in any specific number of voices. For example, in measure 4 a third voice appears out of nowhere. This isn't particularly unusual, especially in this context.
    – phoog
    Commented Dec 17, 2023 at 12:07

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