Turn

Ornamenting from above and below

The turn is an ornament that plays around the main note with its upper and its lower neighbour. The most usual performance begins with the upper neighbour and then leads to the main note, the lower neighbour and the main note again: four notes, played in quick succession. It is written with a lying S above the note. The upper neighbour is as a rule the next note of the scale, the lower one likewise. Accidentals for the neighbour notes are written above the sign (upper note) and below it (lower note).

Above the note or after it

If the sign is above the note, the figure begins at once with the start of the note: short upper neighbour, short main note, short lower neighbour, then the long main note. If it is between two notes or to the right after the note, the main note is held first and the figure is played later, shortly before the next note enters. This difference matters for performance and is described precisely in the older treatises. The music example on this page shows the first form.

Inverted turn

If the figure begins with the lower neighbour, it is called an inverted turn. There are various ways of writing it: the lying S with a vertical stroke, or a reversed sign. In German it is called “umgekehrter Doppelschlag”, in Spanish “grupeto invertido”.

Common mistakes

• Playing too slowly: The turn is an embellishment, not a melody of its own.
• Choosing the wrong neighbour note: The neighbour notes follow the key and the accidentals at the sign.
• Shifting the beginning: Above the note the figure begins on the note, after the note only later.