Sopra

As Printed on a Score

In keyboard music it is printed over the notes of the hand that crosses above the other, often paired with “sotto” for the other hand or attached to a hand (“L. H. sopra”); it applies for the crossing passage. In “come sopra” it refers back to an earlier passage to be played the same way.

How Composers Use It

Write sopra where the notation leaves unclear which hand should cross over: overlapping registers, rapid alternations, figures that could be shared either way. Naming the hand removes the remaining doubt. Come sopra saves repeating a direction or pattern but works only if “above” is unmistakable, ideally on the same page; otherwise write the instruction out again.

Example

Liszt, Hungarian Rhapsody No. 12, piano, m. 78: “Sopra” at pp, answered by “Sotto” at m. 80, the two hands labelled for a crossing.

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