What an ornament is
An ornament is shorthand. A tiny symbol — or a little cluster of small-print notes — standing in for a quick flurry of extra notes that decorate the written one.
The symbol tells you which ornament it is. Exactly how to play it — how fast, which note to start on, how long — depends on when the music was written. That's the thread running through this whole movement:
The symbol tells you what. The era tells you how.
Read now, perform later
Reading an ornament — knowing its name and its rough shape — is a Stage 3 skill, and this movement builds it. Playing trills and turns cleanly and up to speed is a left-hand skill and it belongs to Stage 6. As everywhere in this course, "read it" and "play it" are separate milestones.
The inventory
(P = the written note · U = the step above it · L = the step below)
| Symbol | Ornament | Rough shape |
|---|---|---|
| tr (often with a wavy line) | trill | P and U, alternating fast, for the note's length |
| a short zigzag, no line | upper mordent | P–U–P, one quick flip |
| a short zigzag with a vertical line | lower mordent | P–L–P, one quick flip |
| a lazy sideways S | turn | U–P–L–P |
| a small note, no slash, slurred to P | appoggiatura | a leaning note, on the beat, taking time from P |
| a small note with a slash through the stem | acciaccatura | crushed in fast, before the beat |
| two small rising notes into P | slide | L–L–P, filling in from below |
| a vertical wavy line before a chord | arpeggio / rolled chord | the notes played fast, bottom to top |
Hear one
Try it
Try
Play G–A–B–C plain. Now, on the B, add a quick flick up to C and back — "B–C–B" as fast as you can, then straight on to the C. You've just played an upper mordent. An ornament is never mysterious; it's a couple of small notes played quickly.
The usual mistake
Trying to lock in the one "correct" way to play an ornament from the symbol alone. For a trill especially, where you start and how you shape it change with the period and the harmony — the next lessons handle that. For now: name the family, know the rough shape, and don't over-think the execution.