There’s More to Playing the Piano

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Chapter 26 - Ornaments

I have different ornaments on my mantelpiece than you and, in fact, different ornaments than I had ten years ago. The same is true of composers’ ornaments – they don’t always have to be performed the same way. Ornamentation has always been linked to improvisation. Ornament signs on sheet music were devised as reminders and suggestions to performers. While there is a lot of ambiguity and flexibility in the interpretation of ornaments, there are standard interpretations of each symbol that can be taken as a starting point. Most ornaments should be performed using notes that are within the key of...