Music notation "Coll 8"

[Carol Bruegge]

I have sheet music labelled “Coll’ 8 (4 & 5-oct)” What does “Coll” stand for? I assume for 4 & 5 octave choirs I double top note an octave higher
Carol
Los Angeles, CA

[Michele Sharik - TGD]

It’s an organ notation. It means to double the top note an octave higher. (Or lower if it’s below the bass, I believe.)

Im not an organist, so I’m not clear if it’s only the top note or all notes stemmed together. Can any organists clarify?

-Michèle

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[F. Thomas Simpson]

Hello,

Is it a piece from Flammer?



Thomas



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[Lee G. Barrow]

It's Italian - "colla ottava," "with the octave."
Lee Barrow

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[Charles Peery]

I always think it means “play in octaves.” So is usually think it would be applied to a single note line. If there were more notes, I guess you’d just have to see if it were possible.
Chuck

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[Paul Kinney]

Many handbell pieces with “Coll 8” have a note, perhaps above the music or at the bottom of the page, that specify whether the top note or the upstem notes are to be doubled.

 

And if such a note doesn’t exist – you get to decide!

 

Paul Kinney

Redford Aldersgate UMC

Redford, MI

[Leslie Bauer]

I'm an organist and I've never seen "Coll 8" in any of my organ music. If the composer/arranger wants an octave above he/she would put 4' coupler or an octave below he/she would put 16' coupler. Or 4'/16' stop. You would not be able to reproduce just the top note at any rate, only the whole chord.

Leslie Bauer

[Ivan Boothe]

I'm not an expert, but we can start with the lowest common denominator, Wikipedia:

The notation 8a or 8va is sometimes seen in sheet music, meaning "play this an octave higher than written" (all' ottava: "at the octave" or all' 8va). 8a or 8va stands for ottava, the Italian word for octave (or "eighth"); the octave above may be specified as ottava alta or ottava sopra). Sometimes 8va is used to tell the musician to play a passage an octave lower (when placed under rather than over the staff), though the similar notation 8vb (ottava bassa or ottava sotta) is also used. Similarly, 15ma (quindicesima) means "play two octaves higher than written" and 15mb (quindicesima bassa) means "play two octaves lower than written." The abbreviations col 8, coll' 8, and c. 8va stand for coll'ottava, meaning "play the notes in the passage together with the notes in the notated octaves". Any of these directions can be cancelled with the word loco, but often a dashed line or bracket indicates the extent of the music affected.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octave#Notation

That's attributed to: Ebenezer Prout & David Fallows. "All'ottava". In L. Root, Deane. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press.

It seems like the convention in handbells is to only double the top note (or bottom note in the bass) but reading that definition it certainly seems like it should be all the notes stemmed together.

My "Essential Dictionary of Music" (Alfred Publishing 1997) says simply "coll'ottava: Play the written notes and those notes one octave higher."

More recently, composers (or at least publishers) seem to be clarifying whether they want just the top note or all the notes. If it's not otherwise marked, I just shrug and do whatever the conductor tells me :)

--ivan

--

[Stephanie Wiltse]

Oooh! Brownie Points for Ivan!

> ...If it's not

> otherwise marked, I just shrug and do whatever the conductor tells me :)
>
> --ivan

Stephanie W
Grand Brrrapids, MI

[Carol Bruegge]

Thanks everyone.  The piece is "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" Arr. Jason Krug.  It does have a dashed line to indicated when to stop the "Coll 8"., which I now know is Italian for "colla ottava," thanks to your replies.