Mano Sinistra

Mano sinistra, abbreviated m.s. or l.h. (left hand), is Italian for ‘left hand’. As a piano notation direction it instructs the player to play a particular passage with the left hand. The marking is the natural counterpart to m.d. (right hand).

In standard piano notation, the lower staff (bass clef) is typically played by the left hand. But many passages cross staves or require non-standard hand assignments — perhaps the left hand should play a melody normally assigned to the right hand, or the left hand should reach into the upper register. The m.s./m.d. markings clarify these distributions.

The direction is essential in left-hand-only repertoire (works for the left hand alone, like Ravel’s Concerto for the Left Hand) and in passages where left-hand virtuosity is required to project the upper voice.

Italian, ‘left hand’ — mano (‘hand’) + sinistra (‘left’).

Use the indicated hand. The assignment may seem unnatural at first; the composer has reasons. Practice the indicated fingering until it becomes natural.