Lessons · Musicianship

The ornament shelf

Trill, mordent, turn, grace and roll, spelled exactly

% Every ornament in this lesson decorates THIS tune, and none of them
% makes it longer. Ask climbs to the fifth and leaves off open; Close
% answers it, touching '1 once on the way down to the tonic. Both
% halves run thirty-two units, a chord tone under every four.
 
bpm 60
instrument pluck
unit 1/4
key g maj
 
Ask    ::= 5 _4 6 _2 5 _2 3 _4 2 _4 1 _2 2 _2 3 _4 5 _6 - _2
Close  ::= 5 _4 6 _2 '1 _2 7 _4 6 _4 5 _2 4 _2 3 _4 2 _4 1 _4
Ground<bass> ::= .1 _4 .5 _4 .6 _4 .3 _4 .4 _4 .1 _4 .5 _4 .5 _4
 
{Ask Close, Ground*2}
 
 
% An ornament is a RATE, not a set of notes. Trill and Turn are
% written at plain speed and divided where they are used: Trill/2
% spends eight notes in the four units Ask held its opening 5, and
% Turn@~-2 is that same turn moved two scale steps down onto the 3 it
% replaces. The slices keep everything between them untouched.
 
Trill ::= 5 6 5 6 5 6 5 6
Turn  ::= 6 5 4 5
 
assert Turn@~-2 == 4 3 2 3
 
AskOrn ::= Trill/2 Ask[1:3] Turn@~-2 Ask[4:]
 
{AskOrn Close, Ground*2}
 
 
% The MORDENT bites the note below and returns. One shape serves the
% whole descent ('@~' walks it a scale step at a time) and the four
% mordents fill the sixteen units of a plain four-note fall, over a
% bass falling with them.
 
Mordent ::= 5 4 5 _2
Steps   ::= Mordent@~3 Mordent@~2 Mordent@~1 Mordent
Walk    ::= .1 _4 ..7 _4 ..6 _4 ..5 _4
 
assert Mordent@~3 == '1 7 '1 _2
 
{Steps Close[5:], Walk Ground[2:6]}
 
 
% Where the division falls decides WHICH ornament it is. Lean and
% Snap both spend eight units on the 6 leaning into 5 over a held
% dominant: Lean gives the 6 half of that value (the long
% appoggiatura) and Snap gives it a single unit. Then the same lean
% walks down the scale, each 6 landing a step lower, and closes.
 
Dom  ::= {.5, .7, .2}
Lean ::= {6 5}_4
Snap ::= 6 5 _7
 
assert Lean == 6 _4 5 _4
 
{Lean Snap Lean Snap, Dom _8*4}
{Lean@~-1 Lean@~-3 Lean@~-4, Ground[:6]}
 
 
% A ROLL is a chord divided: the same four notes, spread across the
% unit before the sonority they build. Roll and Tonic _8 last the same
% eight units, and '@~' walks the roll through I IV V I under the
% ornamented strain.
 
Tonic ::= {.1, .3, .5, 1}
Roll  ::= {.1 .3 .5 1}/4 Tonic _7
 
{AskOrn, Roll Roll@~3 Roll@~4 Roll}
 
 
% What ornaments are FOR: the repeat. AskOrn brings its trill and
% turn, CloseOrn adds the mordent on the 7 and the cadential trill on
% the 2, and CloseOrn still measures thirty-two units, the strain of
% block one, note for note under the divisions.
 
CloseOrn ::= Close[:3] Mordent@~2 Close[4:8] {Trill@~-3}/2 Close[9:]
 
assert {Trill@~-3}/2 == {2 3 2 3 2 3 2 3}/2
 
{AskOrn CloseOrn, Ground*2}
{{Trill@~-3}/2 1 _4, Dom _4 Tonic _4}

% Every ornament in this lesson decorates THIS tune, and none of them
% makes it longer. Ask climbs to the fifth and leaves off open; Close
% answers it, touching '1 once on the way down to the tonic. Both
% halves run thirty-two units, a chord tone under every four.

bpm 60
instrument pluck
unit 1/4
key g maj

Ask    ::= 5 _4 6 _2 5 _2 3 _4 2 _4 1 _2 2 _2 3 _4 5 _6 - _2
Close  ::= 5 _4 6 _2 '1 _2 7 _4 6 _4 5 _2 4 _2 3 _4 2 _4 1 _4
Ground<bass> ::= .1 _4 .5 _4 .6 _4 .3 _4 .4 _4 .1 _4 .5 _4 .5 _4

{Ask Close, Ground*2}

% An ornament is a RATE, not a set of notes. Trill and Turn are
% written at plain speed and divided where they are used: Trill/2
% spends eight notes in the four units Ask held its opening 5, and
% Turn@~-2 is that same turn moved two scale steps down onto the 3 it
% replaces. The slices keep everything between them untouched.

Trill ::= 5 6 5 6 5 6 5 6
Turn  ::= 6 5 4 5

assert Turn@~-2 == 4 3 2 3

AskOrn ::= Trill/2 Ask[1:3] Turn@~-2 Ask[4:]

{AskOrn Close, Ground*2}

% The MORDENT bites the note below and returns. One shape serves the
% whole descent ('@~' walks it a scale step at a time) and the four
% mordents fill the sixteen units of a plain four-note fall, over a
% bass falling with them.

Mordent ::= 5 4 5 _2
Steps   ::= Mordent@~3 Mordent@~2 Mordent@~1 Mordent
Walk    ::= .1 _4 ..7 _4 ..6 _4 ..5 _4

assert Mordent@~3 == '1 7 '1 _2

{Steps Close[5:], Walk Ground[2:6]}

% Where the division falls decides WHICH ornament it is. Lean and
% Snap both spend eight units on the 6 leaning into 5 over a held
% dominant: Lean gives the 6 half of that value (the long
% appoggiatura) and Snap gives it a single unit. Then the same lean
% walks down the scale, each 6 landing a step lower, and closes.

Dom  ::= {.5, .7, .2}
Lean ::= {6 5}_4
Snap ::= 6 5 _7

assert Lean == 6 _4 5 _4

{Lean Snap Lean Snap, Dom _8*4}
{Lean@~-1 Lean@~-3 Lean@~-4, Ground[:6]}

% A ROLL is a chord divided: the same four notes, spread across the
% unit before the sonority they build. Roll and Tonic _8 last the same
% eight units, and '@~' walks the roll through I IV V I under the
% ornamented strain.

Tonic ::= {.1, .3, .5, 1}
Roll  ::= {.1 .3 .5 1}/4 Tonic _7

{AskOrn, Roll Roll@~3 Roll@~4 Roll}

% What ornaments are FOR: the repeat. AskOrn brings its trill and
% turn, CloseOrn adds the mordent on the 7 and the cadential trill on
% the 2, and CloseOrn still measures thirty-two units, the strain of
% block one, note for note under the divisions.

CloseOrn ::= Close[:3] Mordent@~2 Close[4:8] {Trill@~-3}/2 Close[9:]

assert {Trill@~-3}/2 == {2 3 2 3 2 3 2 3}/2

{AskOrn CloseOrn, Ground*2}
{{Trill@~-3}/2 1 _4, Dom _4 Tonic _4}

running…edit it and it re-runs as you type

The ornament shelf · Musicianship