Use musical ornaments Learn about these extra decorations

Use musical ornaments

Learn about these extra pieces of musical goodness used to decorate a tune

In the same way that dynamics, tempo and articulations all layer up to create marvellous music, ornaments simply add to this with little quirks and fiddly bits that enhance the tune. They’re easy to recognise and you might find that the hardest part is getting your fingers around them on the piano keys!

Ornaments are noted as small symbols above specific notes. There are four kinds that you need to know. Start with a trill, which is really simple –play the note and the note above it alternately in quick succession. Next is a turn, which is also easy. It’s four notes: the note above, the main note, the note below and the main note again. Then there’s a mordent, which has three notes. There are two kinds of mordent – upper and lower. For upper mordents you play the main note, then the note above it, then the main note once more. Lower notes have the same principle; you play the note below the main note in the middle. The last ones are grace notes. These are single-note ornaments that appear on the stave as ‘mini notes’ next to a main note. There are two categories: acciaccatura and appoggiatura.

All ornaments must be played to the duration of the note they’re assigned to. For example, a trill on a quaver/eighth note must last no longer than the quaver/eighth note’s beat.

Beautify the notes

Know your symbols to create intricate and flamboyant melodies

01 Acciaccatura

This type of grace note is symbolised by a mini quaver/eighth note with a slash through the tail. It is sometimes referred to as a ‘crushed note’ as it is played as quickly as possible before the note in front of it.

02 Appoggiatura

These grace-note ornaments are similar to acciaccaturas, however they fall on the beat of the note, not before it. An appoggiatura can consist of one or more notes and their symbol is the same but without a slash.

03 Trills and turns

To play a trill (left), alternate quickly between the main note and a whole or half-step above. To play a turn, quickly play the note above, then the main note, then the note below and then the main note again.

04 Mordents

These are upper (bar 1) and lower (bar 2) mordents. An upper mordent consists of two main notes sandwiched around a note that’s a whole step lower. A lower mordent is the same, but with a note higher in the middle.

Playing the piano With your new knowledge of music theory, you can now master the building blocks of piano music: chords, scales and arpeggios

“Start playing the notes very slowly and smoothly. Once you have done a few slow repetitions, you can build up speed”

58 Warm up your hands 60 Introducing musical scales 62 The C major scale 66 The F major scale 68 The G major scale 69 The D major scale 70 The A minor scales