A due in
Italian or à deux in
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
is a musical direction meaning "for two". Most often seen in its abbreviated form ''a2'', the marking signifies that on a staff that normally carries parts for two players, both players are to play the single part in
unison.
[Randel, Don Michael (ed.). ''Harvard Concise Dictionary of Music and Musicians.'' Cambridge, London: 1999.] It is generally seen in scores and parts where two players or sections of the same instrument share a staff. The instruction ''a2'' indicates that both players or sections should play the notes indicated, while ''primo'' and ''secondo'' (often abbreviated to ''1.'' and ''2.'' or ''I
o'' and ''II
o'') indicate that only a single player or section should play while the other remains
tacet.
Increasingly larger groups of players can also be indicated in a similar manner, for instance "a3" for three players ("a tre" in Italian, "Ã trois" in French), "a4" for four players ("a quattro" in Italian, "Ã quatre" in French), and so on.
For orchestral strings, playing in unison is usually assumed, but if returning to unison from a
divisi passage, "unison" (or "unis.") is traditionally used to indicate this. If returning from a solo string passage (in which only a single string player in a section is performing), "tutti" is used to indicate that the whole ensemble should play once again.
See also
*
Duet
A duet is a musical composition for two performers in which the performers have equal importance to the piece, often a composition involving two singers or two pianists. It differs from a harmony, as the performers take turns performing a solo ...
*
Unison
References
Musical notation
{{music-theory-stub