Ornament (music)

In music, ornaments are musical flourishes that are not necessary to the overall melodic (or harmonic) line, but serve to decorate or "ornament" that line. The amount of ornamentation in a piece of music can vary from quite extensive (it was often so in the Baroque period) to relatively little or even none. The word agrément is used specifically to indicate the French Baroque style of ornamentation.

Acciaccatura

From the Italian word acciaccare, "to crush"; (pronounced approximately /at-tchak-ka-TOO-ra/). The acciaccatura is perhaps best thought of as a shorter, less melodically significant, variant of the appoggiatura, theoretically subtracting no time at all from the principal note. It is written using a grace note (often a quaver, or eighth note), with an oblique stroke through the stem:

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The exact interpretation of this will vary according to the tempo of the piece, but the following is possible:

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Whether the note should be played before or on the beat is largely a question of taste and performance practice. Exceptionally, the acciaccatura may be notated in the bar preceding the note to which it is attached, showing it is to be played before the beat. (This guide to practice is unfortunately not available, of course, if the principal note does not fall at the beginning of the measure.) Some pianists play both the acciaccatura and the main note simultaneously, releasing the acciaccatura note immediately.

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