What does Mano Sinistra mean in piano music notation?
In piano music, sometimes the acronym “MS” is used to indicate when a player must use their left hand to play a passage instead of their right hand. MS is an Italian term that stands for Mano Sinistra , literally translated as mano, meaning 'hand', and sinistra, meaning 'left'. Music written with the French notation usually uses another acronym similar, “MG” which stands for Main Gauche and also means that the passage must be played with the left hand. Sometimes composers will indicate this in simple English for the left hand, LH (Left Hand).
When to use MS?
Because the left hand usually plays music written on the bass guitar, Madam is usually used on the g-key to indicate that the left hand should move upwards or go over the right hand. However, it can also be used on the bass key. If the right hand has played music in the bass key, Ms can be used to indicate that the left hand must return to the bass key and resume its normal position. There is also a term for the similar functioning of the right hand. Mano Destra, abbreviated as “MD” is used to convey for a piano player when the right hand is to be used to play a specific passage of music.
