Nebenstimme

As Printed on a Score

Printed like the Hauptstimme sign but with a capital N: N joined to a horizontal bracket over the secondary line, ending in a small hook where it stops. Read it as second in importance — audible beneath the H line, above anything unmarked — and, like the H sign, valid only for the length of its bracket.

How Composers Use It

Nebenstimme identifies the secondary melody — less prominent than the Hauptstimme but still important to the texture. It should be audible but not compete with the principal voice.

Example

Berg's Violin Concerto — Hauptstimme and Nebenstimme markings throughout clarify the hierarchy of melodic lines in the dense orchestral texture.

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