Trill (music) - Notation

Notation

In most modern musical notation, a trill is generally indicated with the letters tr (or sometimes simply t) above the trilled note. This has sometimes been followed by a wavy line, and sometimes, in the baroque and early classical periods, the wavy line was used on its own. The following two notations are equivalent:

Both the "tr" and the wavy line are necessary for clarity when the trill is expected to be applied to more than one note (or to tied notes). Also, when attached to a single notehead in one part that corresponds to smaller note values in another part, it leaves no room for doubt if both the letters and the line are used.

The usual way of executing a trill is to rapidly alternate between the note indicated and the note directly above it in the given scale (unless the trill indicates an accidental).

Listen to an example of a short passage ending on a trill. The first time, the passage ends in a trill, and the second, the passage does not.

This is an alternate trill.

These examples are an approximation of how a trill might be executed. In many cases, the rate of the trill will not remain constant as indicated here, but will start slower and become more rapid. Whether a trill is played in this way or not is largely a matter of taste.

The number of alternations between notes can vary according to the length of the note in question. At slower tempos a note will last longer, meaning more notes can be played in the trill, but with a fast tempo and short note a trill might be reduced to nothing more than the indicated note, the note above and the indicated note again.

Trills may also be played beginning on the note above the one indicated (the auxiliary note). Additionally, a trill is often ended by playing the note below the one indicated followed by the note itself.