Ornaments are an opinion
An ornament symbol is an instruction with room in it. Two skilled players, or two editors,
can realise the same tr differently and both be right. When you read an ornament, you're
reading a question as much as an answer.
What you'll actually see
| In an… | The trill looks like |
|---|---|
| Urtext | just tr — the composer's mark, nothing added. You decide. |
| teaching / performing edition | tr, and the trill written out in small notes above the staff — the editor's recommended realisation |
That editorial small-print is why the same concerto in a Flesch edition and an Oistrakh edition can carry different ornament realisations. Neither is "the text" — they're readings of it.
The bare symbol
One editor's realisation
Another editor's realisation
Read now, decide later
Reading the symbol — and spotting where an editor has stepped in — is Stage 3. Playing the ornament is Stage 6. Choosing which realisation you want is the interpretive work of Stage 7 and the repertoire modules — and it's genuinely your call. Ornaments are one of the first places a player gets to choose.
The usual mistake
Treating the editor's small-print realisation as the text — it's a strong suggestion, not gospel. And the reverse: ignoring a helpful realisation just because it's editorial. Read both — the composer's symbol, and the editor's reading of it — and know which is which.