Graphic solutions applied in musical notation.

1)   We normally use systemic bar lines, even if certain sources (e.g. autographs or English editions) have separate bar lines drawn for each staff.

2)   We mark crotchet rests—just like Chopin did—with the  mark, not with the  mark (as can be seen in some of the first editions).

3)   We omit additional naturals added in certain situations before the proper accidentals, e.g. instead of  we write . We also omit accidentals repeated before notes sustained from the previous bar with a tie. We do not mention the differences appearing in that respect in various sources, unless they may prove important for the determination of the text.

4)   As a rule, phrasing slurs are notated in the ‘encompassing’ manner, most often used by Chopin in his autographs, regardless of whether that convention was used in a given source or place. We use (i.e. retain) alternative notation only in certain special situations.

4a) Ties, which in Chopin’s autographs usually take the form of a short slur written directly before the second of the tied notes, are reproduced in the manner more commonly used today, as a slur placed along the entire length between the sustained notes.

5)   We use  and  as pedal markings, regardless of the marking forms used in particular sources. The moment of pedal depression is almost always marked with a more or less stylized abbreviation ped, both in autographs and in first editions. The pedal release mark is most often  or various asterisk-like marks with eightfold symmetry. In some exceptional cases,  for ‘pedal down’ and  for ‘pedal up’ have been used. We give the markings under the bass staff (they are sometimes placed between the staves in various editions).

5a) As arpeggio sign we use the generally accepted vertical wavy line even when in Chopin’s notation it became simplified to the form of vertical slur. When the meaning of such slur is not obvious we discuss all its possible interpretations, and notate it accordingly.

6)   We do not use the term loco (‘in its place’) used by Chopin to mark the end of the octave change.
We do not use the term Fine (‘the End’) put by Chopin after the last bar of the piece.

7)   Dynamic change indications superimposed on hairpins, frequently used by Chopin, e.g. , are rendered as for clarity.

8)   We give metronome markings in a consistently uniform manner, e.g.  =116 or  =60. We neither use nor comment on different graphic forms sometimes encountered in the sources, such as brackets, M.M., no ‘=’ sign, etc.

9)   We supplement dots that are sometimes omitted in abbreviated performance markings. We do not include dots that are sometimes put after unabbreviated performance markings. Chopin’s abbreviation cres and all its variations found in the sources are replaced with cresc. used in contemporary notation.

10) Fingering given in English editions is translated into the system normally used by Chopin and commonly applied today. Thus, instead of +, 1, 2, 3, 4 we write  1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Likewise, we do not take into account other notation conventions found in those editions, such as wavy slurs, minims with stems always on the right side of the note head, slashed grace notes notated as single small semiquavers, capital letters at the beginning of most performance markings.

Rules of graphic transcription (transcript) and content transcription (edited text) applied to sources.

11) Treatment of small graphic discrepancies:

a) basic source: we reproduce it as faithfully as possible, but applying the above-listed principles related to the graphic form of the musical notation used;

b) other sources: we neither take into account nor comment upon slight, purely graphic discrepancies from standardized notation of the basic source (arrangement of notes in chords, the span of hairpins and slurs, etc.).

12) Direction (upward or downward) of stems and beams.

We do not comment on discrepancies that have no impact on the musical aspect of the work and we may change them in justified cases. As a rule, we retain the beam structure and characteristic rows of stems oriented in one direction (e.g. those that emphasise the structure of motifs or phrases); we also take note of such differences between the sources.

12a) The shortened notation.
The abbreviations, used sometimes in manuscripts and editions to denote repeated elements like single beats (tremolos), groups or bars, are reproduced as such only in the graphic transcription. In the content transcription and in the main text we write in full all this kind of shorthand.

13) In graphic transcription, we give verbal indications in their original source version, with retaining the abbreviations used in the sources (with the exception of cresc.—see point 9 above). In the content transcription and in the main text we correct mistakes (e.g. spelling) and take into account certain contemporary conventions in that respect.

14) We give titles and dedications—usually in French—in their original form (transcript) and with expansion of abbreviations (edited text). In solo works we omit the description of forces (‘pour le piano’).

Rules applied to main text.

15) We add warning accidentals in accordance with contemporary editorial practice.

16) We give the numerals signalling the occurrence of irregular groups (triplets, etc.) for those groups that were marked so in the sources, yet placing them in accordance with contemporary rules. Whenever required by the modern editorial practice, we supplement those numerals in the edited text, either directly (without brackets) in obvious situations, or in square brackets in less obvious instances.

In Chopin’s notation, irregular groups were usually marked by a numeral and a slur. We retain those slurs only in those places where they may also be regarded as forming part of the articulation and phrase-marking slurring.

17) For repeated fragments, in the main text we give Chopin’s fingering at the first occurrence of the fragment, even if the sources had it written later in the text.

Other general rules

18) We place articulation marks and accents in accordance with contemporary rules (governing such questions as above or below a note, from the head or the stem side), as long as this does not affect their relations with other signs, and therefore their musical sense.

19) Chopin’s fingering added in teaching copies is given in parentheses (round brackets) to mark its insertion; those parentheses never appear in the sources. In the edited text those parentheses may be omitted when no other fingering appears in a given work.

20) We usually reproduce octave signs as they appear in the sources, but we modify them in accordance with the rules set by the editors of the National Edition whenever such modification can be done without any significant impact on the graphic layout (not to mention musical content).

21) We sometimes modify the left hand part as regards its notation – in the bass or treble clef, on the lower or upper staff.

22) We do not include and comment on – unless it has an impact on the interpretation of the text or on editorial decisions – variants of double bar lines used by some of the first editions, e.g.  instead of .

23) When changing the key signature, we use naturals only when the new key has no more than two signs in the key signature. Chopin would not generally use naturals when changing the key in his autographs.

24) We do not include the notation of longer rhythmic values, generally semibreves or minims, within a section marked by their value. Chopin would generally use this old convention in his manuscripts, becoming a thing of the past already in his times, which was sometimes repeated in the first editions too. We do not comment on such situations, unless the notation makes the rhythmic structure unclear.