Pedal and range: music symbols explained

7 symbols and terms, each explained in a sentence or two — the same dictionary the free Artform score reader uses when you tap a marking on a real score.

8va8va

Play an octave higher than written, for as long as the dotted line lasts. Below the stave (8vb), an octave lower. It saves the page from a blizzard of ledger lines.

Sustain pedal

The right pedal. It lifts the dampers so every string keeps ringing, which is why it thickens as much as it lengthens.

Ottava

8va above a passage means play it an octave higher, 8vb below means an octave lower. It exists to keep ledger lines readable.

Loco

Back in place. Cancels an 8va and says the notes are now where they are written.

Pedal mark

Ped. says press, and the bracket or star says lift. Where they overlap, the pedal is changed rather than released.

Damper

The felt that stops a string ringing. The sustain pedal's whole job is lifting the dampers off.

Hand crossing

One hand playing over or under the other. Written as a cue in the other hand's staff, and worth marking the moment you meet it.

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