Which term tells the performer to stay in the octave as written?

• A. Maestoso
• B. Loco
• C. Lento
• D. Largo

Answer: (B)

Staying in the octave as written is about canceling any octave transposition marks and sounding the notes exactly as they appear on the staff. Loco is the marking that tells you to return to the written pitch, effectively turning off an 8va (play one octave higher) or 8vb (play one octave lower) indication. So if you’ve seen an 8va above a passage and then encounter loco, you would go back to the notes as written, staying in the original octave.

The other terms indicate tempo or character rather than octave placement. Maestoso means to play in a majestic, stately manner. Lento and Largo indicate slow tempos. They don’t tell you anything about which octave to play in, so they don’t address staying in the octave.