Simple syncopation notation

[Florian]

Look how Brahms notates alternating notes between the pianist's hands in his second piano concerto! He doesn't even bother to show the half bar in the right hand once the pattern is established.

brahms.jpg (636.69 KiB) Viewed 6002 times

[John Ruggero]

Interesting and apropos example. Cross-staff beaming for alternating hands on the piano is seen mostly (only?) after the Classic period with composers like Liszt, who used it for percussive effects. Brahms used the older notation, since he didn't use such effects.

Great observation about the beaming. As I mentioned in the post concerning Mancini and his extra ties, composers like Brahms avoided ties whenever possible to keep the notation clean.

[John Ruggero]

Along the same lines, Beethoven et al. including Brahms used the following pattern instead of octaves alternating between the hands in 16ths alla Liszt. The effect is more mellow and non-percussive, although more difficult to play:

Beethoven Concerto 5 pt.jpeg (60.68 KiB) Viewed 5995 times

Beethoven Concerto 5 pt 2.jpeg (123.33 KiB) Viewed 5995 times

[OCTO]

Look how Brahms notates alternating notes between the pianist's hands in his second piano concerto! He doesn't even bother to show the half bar in the right hand once the pattern is established.
brahms.jpg

Brahms, a master of simplicity!