Can someone explain this notation?

[ranjit]

I am not able to make sense of some notation in the Schubert Impromptu No.2.
In bars 25 onward, in the bass clef, there is a union (imagine it as dp., representing the note heads), and then a slur followed by another note.
What does this mean? (see picture attached for clarification)

[adodd81802]

You're probably aware, nothing has come through.

[brogers70]

It means that you are to hold the low Eb for the full dotted half and to play the Eb an octave up on the second beat of the measure. Likewise throughout that section. It's easy to do.

If you are wondering why it's written that way, think of other ways of notating it. He could have written a low Eb dotted half, with a quarter rest directly above it followed by a half note Eb an octave up. But that would not convey the smooth connection across the octave jump, which is what he wants. Or he could have written a quarter note low Eb followed by a half note Eb an octave up with a pedal indication that would have kept the lower Eb sounding. But then the triplets above in the right hand would be all smeared together. If you use pedal in these measures it has to be a light, half pedal or less, and that would not keep the low Eb sounding properly on its own.

Hope that helps.

[visitor]

He image is incomplete to fully analyze and help but from what i see and a fragment of something after, i see two voices converge on a unison, then the tenor moves up and bass stays still. It will help you to think about textures, voices, satb and choral writing and similar, it can frame how you see notation so it is not confusing, i see nothing odd with  the image you posted since therw are two voices in lh and at that moment they happen to do the same thing, then later , they don't.

[dcstudio]

He image is incomplete to fully analyze and help but from what i see and a fragment of something after, i see two voices converge on a unison, then the tenor moves up and bass stays still. It will help you to think about textures, voices, satb and choral writing and similar, it can frame how you see notation so it is not confusing, i see nothing odd with  the image you posted since therw are two voices in lh and at that moment they happen to do the same thing, then later , they don't.

Well said   like two people singing the same note and one  moves on while the other continues to hold it.  Pianists regularly have trouble making sense out of this until they get used to it. We aren't ensemble players generally speaking but we can make the piano sound like an ensemble as Schubert masterfully does in this example.

[visitor]

Well said   like two people singing the same note and one  moves on while the other continues to hold it.  Pianists regularly have trouble making sense out of this until they get used to it. We aren't ensemble players generally speaking but we can make the piano sound like an ensemble as Schubert masterfully does in this example.

thanks dcstudio!!, had a teacher tell me more than once we are the conductor amd our fingers are the voices and instruments , with me I feel like they gave an add youth orchestra and it's all I can do to try and get half the members to cooperate more more than a few minutes lol