Small notes

[rosana]

I apologize in advance if this is a stupid question, but I have been searching in theory books, notation books, etc... and can't find an answer. In some pieces, there are notes written smaller than some (and I do not mean the ornaments), for example, Chopin's Etude op 25 no1 and Chopin's Nocturne op 9 no2 towards the end etc... Is there a name for this notation? And how are they supposed to be played? Thanks.

[silvaone]

do you possibly mean grace notes? like this?



basically its like a note which your slide (in blues anyway - also called crushed notes)  from one note to the other or transition them seemlessly to create a kind of ''bend'' as when a guitarist would bend/push the string to bend the note - this is used alot in blues (if thats indeed what your talking about)

take care

- Silva

[mrchops10]

I don't think Chopin wrote in a blues styles...these "little notes" can mean many things, depending on the situation. In the nocturne, they mean serve to make that passage a "cadenza," or a metrically free passage which should be played with great expression and rubato, because there is no "accompaniment." Often in Chopin these occur when there is accompaniment, so that just means you try to keep the left hand steady while playing the "cadenza" freely. In op. 25/1, it's a little different, this notation is much less common, but is used to set of the texture from the melody, which is written in large notes.

[silvaone]

I wasnt implying that chopin wrote any type of blues what so ever..... just trying to help someone out....

[alzado]

In the beautiful Myra Hess transcription of "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" there are a number of very small notes.

My teacher and I believe that these notes may represent departures from the original score.   Or possibly, notes that should be played to be totally consistent with the original (string ensemble) score.

Myra was so conscientious about respecting the original score than in her piano transcription she identifies the parts as you play, such as "Tenore" (tenor).

At any rate, I suspect my piano teacher asked me to play the small notes based on a judgment on her part that they improve the quality of the performance.

There is little or nothing in the sheet music (no notes, etc) to clarify why the small notes are there.

For those who have not played this transcription, I recommend it.

[quantum]

Regarding the Hess transcription.  I believe those notes are there to distinguish between which notes belong to harmony and which belong to melody.  There are some sections where the melody line is not on top, and because there are already so many other voices on the single staff with stems going every which way, there needed to be another method for showing an additional voice that appears above the melody but is not part of the melody. 

This thread also has a discussion on small notes:
https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php/topic,3220.0.html

[mrchops10]

I wasnt implying that chopin wrote any type of blues what so ever..... just trying to help someone out....

Sorry silvaone , I didn't mean to snap at you, I was in a hurry and didn't take the time to read over my post. No insult intended.

[rosana]

Thanks to those who replied. I had a very general idea about the significance of the small notes (not grace notes or ornaments), but I was surprised I could not find any reference in theory books about them or if there is a name for this particular notation. If anybody has an actual reference, please let me know. Thanks again

[bernhard]

A very good starting point is:

Valerie Lloyd Watts & Carol L. Biggler - "Ornamentation: A Question and Asnwer Manual" - Alfred.

Best wishes,
Bernhard.

[silvaone]

how about the represent that you must play them pianissimo