Ornaments in Baroque Music

Ornaments in Baroque Music

Types of Ornaments

• Trills: A rapid alternation between the written note and the one above it.

• Mordents: Referred to as a short trill, starts on the main note, moves to the note below, and back to the main note again.

Techniques in Ornaments

• Appoggiatura: A leaning note. It was often a non-chord note which resolved onto a chord note, giving a dissonance and then a resolution.

• Acciaccatura: A crushed note. Played as quickly as possible before the principal note.

Significance of Ornaments

• Embellishment: Ornaments were often used to embellish the melody, adding complexity to the overall piece.

• Expressiveness: Ornaments were also used to add expressiveness and emotional depth to the music.

Variation in Ornaments

• Improvised: In the Baroque period, many of the ornaments were often improvised by the performer.

• Written: Some composers wrote out the ornaments exactly as they wanted them played.