#45 LEARN FREE MUSIC THEORY

Andrew Furmanczyk

6 Dec 201030:36

EducationalLearning

32 Likes 10 Comments

TLDRThis educational video lesson teaches about musical ornaments, comparing them to Christmas tree decorations that add flair and draw attention. It covers the appoggiatura, grace note, mordent, trill, and turn ornaments. Examples demonstrate how these miniature notes decorate the main melody notes. There are rules for rhythmically fitting these in, with flexibility for interpretation. Assignments encourage further study of ornaments in existing compositions and practice writing them out.

Takeaways

😀 Ornaments like appoggiaturas and grace notes decorate the main melody note
😊 An appoggiatura takes half or two-thirds of a main note's value
🎵 A grace note is played very quickly before the main note
🎹 A mordent starts on the main note then alternates below and back up
🎼 A trill starts above the main note and alternates quickly
✨ Trills can have prefixes and suffixes added
🔊 Trills should be played smoothly and with expression
♩ A turn starts above, goes to the main note, below, and back up
🎶 Turns can be accented on the beat or unaccented between beats
🤓 Practice writing out different ornaments over melodies

Q & A

What are the first two ornaments that are discussed in the video?
-The first two ornaments discussed are the appoggiatura and theacciatura, also known as the grace note.
How does the instructor explain what musical ornaments are by using a metaphor?
-The instructor explains that musical ornaments are like Christmas tree ornaments - they decorate and bring attention to the main note, but don't change the essence of the note itself.
What is the difference between an appoggiatura and a grace note?
-An appoggiatura has a slanted line through it while a grace note does not. Also, appoggiaturas steal time from the main note while grace notes are played very quickly before the main note.
How does the instructor explain that musical ornaments add interest, similar to plot elements in a story?
-The instructor explains that just like a story needs elements of conflict to be interesting, musical ornaments create dissonance and tension that resolves back to harmony, adding interest.
What is a double appoggiatura and how is it notated?
-A double appoggiatura divides the stolen time from the main note between two ornament notes instead of one. It is notated with two small grace notes before the main note.
What is the difference between a mordent and a trill?
-A mordent starts on the main note while a trill starts on the note above. Also, a mordent has a vertical line through it while a trill does not.
What musical period was the mordent more common in?
-The mordent was more common in Baroque music.
What extra components can a trill have?
-A trill can have a prefix, which comes before the trill, and/or a suffix, which comes after the trill.
What is an example of a piece that uses many ornaments that the instructor recommends listening to?
-The instructor recommends listening to Chopin's Nocturne in E-flat Major, Op. 9 No. 2 as an example piece using many ornaments.
What is the difference between an accented turn and an unaccented turn?
-An accented turn starts right on the beat, while an unaccented turn starts slightly before the beat.

Outlines

00:00

🎵 Introducing Ornaments

The first paragraph introduces ornaments, comparing them to Christmas tree decorations that ornament and bring attention to the main melody notes. It mentions appoggiaturas and grace notes as two examples that will be covered.

05:00

🎹 How Beats are Determined for Ornaments

The second paragraph explains how the beats are determined for appoggiaturas versus grace notes. Appoggiaturas take half or two-thirds of the main note's value. Grace notes are played very quickly.

10:01

🎼 The Mordent and Trill Ornaments

The third paragraph introduces the mordent, an older ornament seen more in Baroque music, and the trill, a more modern ornament with more elaboration. It explains how to play each ornament.

15:01

💃 More on How to Play the Trill Ornament

The fourth paragraph continues discussing the trill, noting it starts above the main note and can have prefix and suffix notes. It also mentions instrument-specific trill differences.

20:02

🎵 Prefixes, Suffixes and Shorthands for Trills

The fifth paragraph further explains prefixes, suffixes and shorthands for indicating trills, prefixes coming from above or below and suffixes usually going down.

25:04

🔀 Introducing the Turn Ornament

The sixth paragraph introduces the turn ornament, which goes above, to, below, and back to the main note. It can also have accidentals like sharps or flats.

30:06

📝 Homework Assignment on Ornaments

The final paragraph gives a homework assignment to write out examples of the ornaments covered and identify an existing piece using them.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡ornaments

Ornaments refer to small notes or symbols that decorate a melody. They add flair and interest to the main notes. Examples from the script include the appoggiatura, grace note, mordent, trill, and turn.

💡appoggiatura

An appoggiatura is an ornament note that takes half or two-thirds of the value of the main note it decorates. It is written as a small note with a slash through the stem. The script explains the rules for how appoggiaturas are played rhythmically.

💡grace note

A grace note, also called an acciaccatura, is a quickly played ornament note written as a small note without a slash. Grace notes ornament the main melody note through rapid notes leading to it.

💡mordent

A mordent is an ornament with three rapid notes that starts on the main note, goes below it, then back to it. It has a zigzag line with a vertical line through it. Mordents were common in Baroque era music.

💡trill

A trill is a rapid alternation between two notes that starts on the note above the main note. Trills can have prefix and suffix notes and allow for flexible rhythm. They are very common in music by Chopin.

💡turn

A turn is an ornament that goes above the main note, down to it, below it, then back up to it. Turns outline the main note through upper and lower neighbor tones. They can be accented on the beat or unaccented.

💡harmony

Harmony refers to the simultaneous combination of notes and chords. The video explains how ornament notes sometimes create harmonic dissonance before resolving to consonance.

💡key signature

The key signature establishes the key of a piece of music through the number of sharps or flats at the beginning. It affects the ornament notes played in a trill, for example.

💡roboto

Roboto refers to subtle flexibility of timing and rhythm. Many ornaments like trills and turns have a 'give and take' allowing for roboto in their rhythm.

💡Chopin

Frédéric Chopin was a Romantic era composer who made extensive use of ornaments like trills and turns in his piano music. His nocturnes showcase many types of ornaments.

Highlights

Ornaments are like decorations that embellish the main melody notes

Appoggiaturas and grace notes are tiny ornament notes that decorate the main notes

Appoggiaturas take half or two-thirds of the main note's value based on dotted or not

Grace notes are played very quickly before the main note

The mordent is an older ornament seen more in Baroque music

The trill is a more modern ornament with a lot of variations

Trills have prefix and suffix notes that decorate the trill

Trills allow for flexibility in rhythm to sound more musical

Turns decorate a note by playing the notes above, main note, below, back to main

Turns can be accented on the beat or unaccented starting off beat

After 1800s some trills started on the main note with an extra note

Chopin Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2 has examples of ornaments to study

Practice writing out examples of each type of ornament

Find examples in existing music and write out how they would be played

Ornament interpretation will help higher level playing

Transcripts

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