Linke Hand

As Printed on a Score

Printed in piano music, usually abbreviated l. H. or L. H., by the notes the left hand should take — often notes on the upper staff, or a crossing. It applies to those notes only. English L.H. looks identical; Italian scores write m.s.

Abbreviations: l.H., l. H., L.H.

How Composers Use It

Hand indications solve problems the staff layout cannot: which hand takes an inner voice, when hands cross, how to share a texture. Mark them where the obvious reading is wrong or awkward, and stay consistent within a piece. In German music the full words also appear inside sentences (“linke Hand immer gleich stark”), where they address balance as well as distribution.

Example

Schoenberg, Das Buch der hängenden Gärten, Op. 15, “Wenn ich heut nicht deinen Leib berühre”, piano, m. 19: “linke Hand immer gleich stark bis” “zum schluß” — the left hand to stay equally strong to the end, after ff.

Related Terms