Colla destra

As Printed on a Score

Printed at a note or passage in piano music to have it taken with the right hand, usually where its position on the lower staff might suggest the left; it applies only to the marked notes.

How Composers Use It

Colla destra says the same as mano destra (m.d.) in fuller Italian, and tends to appear in older or more literary directions; choose one style per score. Use it where the choice of hand matters — crossings, a melody passed between the hands, a note the left hand cannot reach in time — not as routine fingering.

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