Grade 4 Music Theory Lesson 13: Ornaments & Foreign Musical Terms
Ornaments
Ornaments are symbols that tell the player to change the written note in a specific way. Some ornaments are written on the stave itself, while others are written above it. Ornaments are never written below the stave.
In the grade four exam, you need to be able to recognise and name the following ornaments:
- trill
- turn
- upper mordent
- lower mordent
- acciaccatura
- appoggiatura
(Try to learn how to spell them correctly too! The last two are the hardest - try to remember which letters are doubled!)
You need to learn each ornament's symbol, name and how it is written out. In the grade four exam you won't have to write out ornaments in full yourself, (you have to do that at grade six!), but you might be asked to name an ornament from looking at its written out type, instead of its symbol.
Symbol | Name | Description of symbol | How it Sounds |
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Trill | "tr" (often with a wavy line) | ![]() |
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Turn | Like a backwards "s" on its side | ![]() |
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Upper Mordent | Short zigzag | ![]() |
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Lower Mordent | Short zigzag with a line through | ![]() |
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Acciaccatura | Small sized quaver with a line through its tail | ![]() |
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Appoggiatura | Small sized note (usually a crotchet) | ![]() |
Musical Terms
You need to know ALL the terms and symbols from grades one, two and three, plus these new ones:
Italian Terms | |
affettuoso | tenderly |
affrettando | hurrying |
amabile/amiable | pleasant |
appassionato | passionately |
calando | dying away |
cantando | singing |
come | as, similar to |
come prima | as before |
come sopra | as above |
facile | easy |
fuoco | fire |
giusto | proper, exact |
l'istesso | the same |
l'istesso tempo | at the same speed |
morendo | dying away |
niente | nothing |
nobilmente | nobly |
perdendosi | dying away |
possibile | possible |
quasi | as, resembling |
sonoro | resonant, with a rich sound |
sopra | above |
sotto | below |
sotto voce | in an undertone |
tempo giusto | in strict time |
veloce | swift |
voce | voice |
French Terms | |
a | to, at |
animé | animated, lively |
assez | enough |
avec | with |
cédez | yield, relax the speed |
douce | sweet |
en dehors | prominent (make the melody stand out) |
en pressant | hurrying on |
et | and |
légèrement | lightly |
lent | slow |
mais | but |
modéré | at a moderate speed |
moins | less |
non | not |
peu | little |
plus | more |
presser | hurry |
ralentir | slow down |
retenu | held back, slowing a little |
sans | without |
très | very |
un, une | one |
vif | lively |
vite | quick |