Turn
A four-note ornament around the principal note
Related
A turn is a four-note ornament around the principal note: upper neighbour–main–lower neighbour–main (or the reverse). Its sign looks like a sideways S and may sit above, after or through the main note.
It differs from a mordent: a mordent folds once, a turn goes around; it differs from a trill too: a turn has four fixed notes, a trill alternates many times. The usual mistake is to treat it as mere decoration — it changes the melody's weight and landing point; placed before or after the main note, it sounds completely different.
Read deeper → ornaments
Sources
- 回音的记谱与演奏，参 The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, "Turn"；本文为原创表述
Used for fact-checking only; all prose is original.