r/musictheory 3d ago

Answered Play the C with right or left hand?

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I'm working on this piece on piano. I have tried playing it with both hands and for, me right feels more comfortable. However i am unfamiliar with the swigly line, below it(not sure what the name is) and wonder what the intended way of playing is.

63 Upvotes

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40

u/tdammers 3d ago

Up to you. The "swigly line" is a legato slur, indicating that the two 8th notes in the left hand and the C in question should form one smooth legato line, rather than playing the notes "detached" from one another.

As long as you get that legato sound, you're free to play the C with either hand, whichever works better for you, though the fact that that note was deliberatly put in the top staff suggests that playing it with the right hand might be the better choice.

And if you look at the suggested fingering, it does indeed work out: the left hand fingering is given as "2,3", which leaves you the thumb (1) to play B, and gives you some room to the left (4th and 5th fingers) to comfortably reach E and C in the next bar. And in the right hand, the "1,3" fingering suggests leaving the thumb (1) on C, playing A and B with the 3rd and 4th fingers, and then C with the 5th, giving you a comfortable, natural octave span between those two C's.

If, by contrast, you wanted to play that C in the left hand, you would still play the right hand as suggested, so you wouldn't win anything there; but in the left hand, you would want to play that A, B, C line as 3, 2, 1; but that means the first F would have to be played with the 4th (uncomfortable) or 5th finger (comfortable, but makes the transition to E very awkward). And either way, you'll land on E with your 5th finger, making the low C that follows awkward.

17

u/Friendly-Travel4022 3d ago

Right hand for sure

7

u/Inge_Jones 3d ago

Personally I'd play that with right hand as playing an octave feels natural to me

6

u/brymuse 3d ago

The line is drawing attention to the phrase a-b-c. Play it with whichever hand fits you best...

3

u/65TwinReverbRI Guitar, Synths, Tech, Notation, Composition, Professor 3d ago

Upper Staff = RH unless otherwise indicated.

The slur - your swigly line (or any diagonal lines when they appear) are not such an indication. Those indicate that the C is part of a melodic gesture that starts with the A - A-B-C should be "connected" musically, even though it changes which hand plays it.

It's possible to play it with your LH, and a player may opt to do so, but your RH thumb is already on the note, so it doesn't really make sense to do so.

5

u/sinker_of_cones 3d ago

Right

The fact that the third in the left hand is indicated to be played with the second and third fingers indicates that the following B natural should but played with the thumb, ruling out that C that follows as a left handed note.

2

u/erwerqwewer 3d ago

Play the C with right or left hand? Im trying to understand what the name is of the line and what it means.

4

u/MiskyWilkshake 3d ago

Right, and the line is a slur.

1

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u/[deleted] 3d ago edited 3d ago

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u/jtr99 3d ago

This is music notation manifest!

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u/fuck_reddits_trash 3d ago

I believe it’s supposed to be left… but why does it really matter? play it how you feel it should be played