Mano Destra

Mano destra, abbreviated m.d. or r.h. (right hand), is Italian for ‘right hand’. As a piano notation direction it instructs the player to play a particular passage with the right hand. The marking is most often used when the natural assignment of a passage to one hand or the other is ambiguous.

In standard piano notation, the upper staff (treble clef) is typically played by the right hand and the lower staff (bass clef) by the left hand. But many passages cross between the staves, or require non-standard hand distribution. The m.d./m.s. markings clarify which hand should play which notes.

The direction is also used in keyboard works for two hands but written on a single staff (some Baroque music, contemporary scores), where the hand assignments must be specified explicitly.

Italian, ‘right hand’ — mano (‘hand’) + destra (‘right’).

Use the indicated hand. Don’t substitute; the composer or editor has reasons for the assignment, often related to fingering economy or sound production.