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Hi
I am piano beginnger, I have a question about note & rest which I couldn't get the answer for the web, and hopefully someone can help.

And the question is:
In the base clef (3/4 time signature) staff, I have a dotted minim stem point upward (with a crochet rest just above it, when I say just above, I don't mean at the treble clef), a minim stem downward and a crochet stem downward. If I base on the note to count for the beat, it should be 3(dotted minim)+2(minim)+1(crochet)=6 beats. But this is a 3 beats count.

Can anybody help to explain and advise how should I play with my left hand fingers?

Thanks!


Shearerlyn (Singapore)

So do you mean

minim crotchet rest
minim crotchet

?
If so, the bass part seems to have two 'voices', so you'd play the two minims together, and then let go of the top minim (which you'd probably play with the thumb) and play the bottom crotchet on its own. Hope that makes sense! Is it in a piece of music which we might know? If so, we could take a look at it and be sure we were on the right track!

Hi Gill Green
Thanks for the explanation.

The piece is "Passepied" by DIEUPART (ABRSM exam pieces 2005/2006 - Grade 3 book).

I'll have a look next time I'm tuning a piano where they're doing grade 3!! Good luck

Hi, Shearerlyn.

I assume you are talking about the way the left hand part is written for the whole of the first section, and quite a bit of the second section. Yes, it's been notated in a very confusing way, hasn't it?

What's really going on is that there are THREE "parts" in the left hand. The lowest part (in bar 1, the dotted minim D) is held on for the whole bar. The middle part is notated as the crotchet rest for beat one and then the minim F sharp. Logically, the top part SHOULD really be shown as a two beat rest and then the crotchet A - but it isn't! The easiest way to think of it is that as you play each of the three notes in the bar, you hold each of them on right to the end of the bar. So by beat three, you're holding down three notes making a complete chord.

There are some more confusing bars in section two. Bar 10 and bar 22 divide into two parts for the first two beats (so hold on the minim while you play the next crotchet an octave below) and then return to just the one note for the final beat.

Hope this is helpful. Ask another question if you like!

Liz