Trill
A rapid alternation with the note above — not a vibration
Related
A trill is a rapid alternation between the main note and the note above, written tr with a wavy line. It is not vibrato: vibrato is a small fluctuation of pitch on one note, a trill is a back-and-forth between two different pitches.
The starting note has varied historically: Baroque trills often begin on the upper auxiliary, later ones more often on the main note, and they frequently end with a turn-like close. A trill is not "the faster the better": speed, evenness and the ending decide whether it ornaments or merely rattles.
Read deeper → Ornaments
Sources
- 颤音的结构、起始音的历史差异与记谱，参 The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, "Trill" 与通行乐理教材；本文为原创表述
Used for fact-checking only; all prose is original.