Suono reale

As Printed on a Score

Printed over a passage in a transposing part that is written at concert pitch, over harmonics written at the pitch actually heard, or at the head of a score written entirely in concert pitch. It holds for the passage, or for the whole score when given at the top.

How Composers Use It

Players assume their usual transposition, so any departure from it must be announced. A concert-pitch score makes harmony easy to read but needs separately transposed parts. Over harmonics, suono reale settles whether the note shown is the pitch heard or the place to touch the string — a frequent source of error.

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