Trill (music) - On Specific Instruments

On Specific Instruments

The trill is frequently found in classical music for all instruments, although it is more easily executed on some than others. For example, while it is relatively easy to produce a trill on the piano, the proper execution on brass instruments requires higher skill and is produced by quickly alternating partials. While playing a trill on the piano the pianist may find that it becomes increasingly difficult to execute a trill including the weak fingers of the hand (3, 4 and 5), with a trill consisting of 4 and 5 being the hardest. On the clarinet, trills across the break are very difficult and are often found in virtuoso literature. On the guitar, a trill is a series of hammer-ons and pull-offs (generally executed using just the fingers of the fretting hand but can use both hands). For (Western) flutes and modern oboes, two trill keys are used to rapidly alternate between two adjacent notes. On the bowed instruments, the violin and the viola in particular, the trill is relatively easy to execute, with a straightforward bowing and the trill involving the oscillation of just one finger against the main note which is stopped by the finger behind, or more rarely, the open string.