Facilité

As Printed on a Score

Printed above an extra staff or a small-note alternative line beside the original, marking an easier version of a difficult passage — most often in vocal scores, for a high note or a florid run. The performer chooses one version or the other; the alternative ends where the extra line stops.

Also spelled: facilite

How Composers Use It

Offering a facilité lets a demanding passage reach singers or players who cannot manage it as written, without changing the main text. Keep the alternative musically equivalent — same harmony, same arrival point, same words — so either version fits the accompaniment unchanged. Print it on a separate small staff or in cue-sized notes so it is never mistaken for the main line.

Example

Bizet, Feuilles d’album, “Le grillon”, soprano, m. 230: “Facilité”; in the same closing passage this edition also carries a separate staff labelled “Facilité”.

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