I have another question on musical notation (earlier I asked about double sharps – thanks for the replies).
In my edition of “Moonlight” (Beethoven’s opus 27, No. 2, 1st movement) at bar 39 there are two notes side by each - same beat. Here’s my question: WTF?
In the bass clef, at bar 39, there is a three-note chord, the top note of which is G#. This chord is all whole notes. In the treble clef is another G# right next to the one in the chord; this is a quarter note. In other words there are two G#s at the same beat. Why? I assume the note is played with only a single finger (rather than with two fingers banging on the same key). So why bother with the two notes? Is it stylistic?
For extra credit: why is the piece called Opus 27, No. 2? Are there two or more Opus 27s in Beethoven’s oeuvre?
I just looked at my Dover edition, and while I can see what you’re talking about, the details you give don’t match up with my measure 39. Here’s a link to the (public domain) Dover edition. In my edition, the “doubled” note is a B#, not a G#; one of the B#'s is an eighth note, while the other is a half note.
Anyways, the reason that it’s written like that is that first, Beethoven wants you to sustain the B# while playing the other eighth notes in the arpeggio, and second, he wants to emphasize that that B# is still “part” of the arpeggio. The reason the note is written twice is because it’s a half note; if the lower note was only going to be sustained for one beat, he could use the “double stem” thing used (for example) on beats 3 & 4 of the previous measure. But since eighth notes and half notes use different styles of note heads, he has to write two note heads.
To play the first two beats of measure 39, then: Left hand sustains the G# octave for two beats; right thumb sustains the B# for two beats; and the third, fourth and fifth fingers on the right hand play the upper part of the arpeggio.
Oh, and the reason that it’s “No. 2” is simply that Beethoven published this sonata together with another one, and the “Moonlight” was second.
I’m at work so I don’t have my copy to hand, but I know the piece well enough to see what you are referring to. It is, as you say, mainly a stylistic thing, in that the note is only played once (and held for the whole bar by the left hand). The quarter note (or is it in fact and eighth note triplet?) you refer to is, I believe, the first of a group of 3 rising notes, which is the pervading theme of that movement, and so it makes more sense to print this note (even though it is already covered by the left hand) rather than printing a rest. When I play the piece, in that bar I place my right hand as if the thumb is in position to play that note, although it is the left hand that actually sounds it.
It also emphasises the fact that that note is part of the right hand “tune”, not just a left hand accompanying note, which means the pianist may wish to accent it slightly more than if it was just written as a rest for the right hand.
I am not an expert music theorist, however, and I know we have a few here, so I look forward to the above being corrected, or even confirmed!
Regarding “Opus 27”, “opus” is simply Latin for “work”, and it generally denotes a group of pieces published together (or, often, a single piece published on its own). “27” means it was the 27th published work by Beethoven, and “no 2.” means it was the second piece of Opus 27 - the first being Beethoven’s piano sonata number 13 in E flat major, which is Opus 27 no. 1.
ETA: just beaten! And looking at the link, I see I had misremembered the part of the score you were referring to.
To correct the above post (ran out of edit time), having reminded myself of the score, in bar 39 (and similarly in bars 37 and 38), I would play it as MikeS says above.
Now that’s cleared up, I’d just like to say this is one of my favourite pieces of music of all time, particularly if you include the second and third movements of the sonata. Anyone who can play the first movement proficiently can probably learn the second, too, but you have to be practically international standard to master the third! I’m not, but it’s still fun trying :). I’d particularly recommend the Daniel Barenboim recording, most recordings take the first movement too fast, IMO.
As an amateur music theorist (at one point, I majored in music composition in college, but found my real calling later and switched), I love these music questions! I never seem to get in early enough to answer them, but I love reading them!
Clearly the OP temporarily forgot he was reading the bass staff. With a G(?) clef it would be G#.
Apropos of nothing in particular, in guitar music a doubled note means you play the note simultaneously on two different strings. Given the nature of the instrument, that usually means the sustained note is one of the open strings.