OCTO wrote: ↑19 Jan 2017, 09:26
Here I face numerous questions. This example is very quick
= 160 or more. About 150 measures if this kind.
1. Is it OK to use so high octave, without 8va? The line moves quickly between low and high notes: without 8va it is obvious the direction.
2. Is it OK to use that way cross-staff, or cross-staff with beams on one side (not between) should be better?
3. For pianists: is this to quick? Would moving hands one octave apart be helpful, or there is no difference in performance? Is there any problem with RH/LH or LH/RH would be better?
1. In my opinion (as a pianist), 8va lines are not necessary for up to 4 ledger lines above or below. I don't mind the occasional 5th ledger line either. This is not unusual in piano notation. So only from 5th or 6th ledger line onwards I would prefer the notation with 8va.
Octo's example does not go beyond 4 ledger lines, so I would prefer it without 8va, just like it stands now. Even more so because, if using 8va, you would correctly have to place 8va lines over both staves (also the left hand stave!), which will make the space between the staves look quite crowded if the beams are between the staves as well.
2. This is the preferred cross-staff notation, as stated by Knut. You may beautify it further by taking care that the beam placement follows the musical line of
both hands (for example: the beam jumping upwards between 3rd and 4th beats of the 1st bar is not helpful for reading, as the RH is not moving); and also by keeping the beams a bit closer to the LH stave, i.e. as much as possible in the space between the staves. (But do not increase the distance between staves! That would make cross-staff reading again more difficult!)
However, if all the notes on both staves would natively have their stems downward, I would not object to seeing all the beams under (or on) the lower stave. And the other way around in bass clef.
3. No, it is not too quick. But 150 bars of this might get tiring. I'd have a few questions in order to determine whether the alternating hands technique is actually the right technique to employ for the entire passage:
What is the dynamic level? Is it 150 bars of fortissimo? (Often, only in dynamic levels above forte does the alternating hands technique have a real advantage over other techniques.)
What is the desired articulation? Martellato? Staccato leggiero? Or legato? (Playing with alternating hands typically induces a martellato result.)
Moving one hand an octave apart might, technically, make this excerpt slightly easier, as the two hands would then never cross. But of course, it would sound entirely different, and the occasionally crossing fingers are not a big deal, IMO. Putting the hands an octave apart might actually make reading it
more difficult, as then it is more difficult to understand the melodic line.
For this particular 5-bar excerpt, I think it would be easier to play if the hands were reversed (LH on the beat). But I cannot say for the other 145 bars. It would depend on the direction of the musical line, and how often and where the hands would cross. The hands could also occasionally change their order at suitable places (such as after a rest).
However - cross-staff notation such as this is not easy to read because a single musical line is dispersed over two staves, making it difficult to grasp the melodic line at sight. I'd suggest the following notation, which avoids cross-staff notation entirely. As long as there
is a melodic line (and the hands are not jumping around or crossing each other wildly), this notation has the following benefits:
- Single-staff notation is easier to read. Easy to understand the melodic line even at first reading.
- No need to repeat accidentals for both hands separately (as visually there is only a single musical line).
- If an 8va line is needed, one will be enough.
- If tired with playing alternating hands, or if finding that alternating hands are not the best way to realize the music, the pianist can easily change to playing the line with one hand (or divide the line between the hands in some other way), without a need to renotate.
to 
This is actually no more difficult to play.