Ornament symbols: trills, mordents, turns and grace notes

The upper note is the next note of the key above the written one, unless an accidental printed with the tr changes it. A wavy line after the sign shows how long the trill continues.

Where it starts depends on the style. In Baroque and much Classical music the trill traditionally begins on the upper note; from the nineteenth century on it usually begins on the written note. Its speed and its ending — often a little turn — are matters of style too.

The demonstration plays one common modern reading, starting on the written note, and the older reading starting on the upper note. Neither is right for every piece.

With the vertical stroke it is the mordent proper: written note, the note below, written note. Without the stroke it is usually called the upper mordent or inverted mordent (German Pralltriller): written note, the note above, written note.

The names are genuinely confusing — some books call the stroked sign the lower mordent, and 'inverted' has been applied to both. Go by the stroke, and by the edition's own table of ornaments where there is one. In Baroque music the exact realisation also depends on context.

Placed directly over a note, the turn usually starts straight away on the upper note. Placed between two notes, it comes after the first note has sounded, leading into the next: written note, above, written note, below, written note. A turn with a vertical line through it, or drawn upside down, is an inverted turn, which starts below.

As with every ornament, the timing depends on the tempo and the style.

Acciaccatura means 'crushing': the grace note is crushed against the main note and takes almost no time. Whether it falls just before the beat or on it varies with style and performer; either way the main note keeps its place in the rhythm.

The slash is what distinguishes it from the appoggiatura.

Appoggiatura comes from appoggiare, 'to lean'. The small note is stressed and resolves onto the written note. In Classical-era music it often took half the main note's value — more before a dotted note — but its length was a matter of convention and context, which is why many modern editions write it out in full.

On the piano or harp it is a rapid sweep across the keys or strings in between. On a trombone, a violin or a voice it can be a continuous slide through every pitch on the way — sometimes distinguished as portamento, which usually means a smaller, more expressive slide.

The notes sound one after another, very fast, and are held. An arrowhead pointing down on the line asks for the roll from the top down instead. It is natural on harp and guitar; on the piano it can also let a hand reach a chord too wide to play at once.