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.

Appoggiatura

From the Italian word appoggiare, "to lean"; (pronounced approximately /ap-podge-a-TOO-ra/). The appoggiatura is important melodically and often subtracts for itself half the time value of the note it precedes (though in triple time, for example, it might receive two thirds of the time). The added note (the unessential note) is one degree higher or lower than the principal note; and, if lower, it may or may not be chromatically raised (see mordent).

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The appoggiatura is written as a grace note, usually without the oblique stroke:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

This would be executed as follows:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

to a passage with two phrases ending in appoggiaturas, followed by these two phrases without them. (OGG)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Musicians' mnemonic: the appoggiatura is longer than the acciaccatura because it is podgy.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• Spelling Bee:

Eighth-grader Anurag Kashyap of California won the 2005 Scripps National Spelling Bee by correctly spelling appoggiatura.

Related Topics:
California - Scripps National Spelling Bee

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~