Week 1 Assignment
Welcome to the latest two-week intensive with Leann Osterkamp!
Do your trills never sound quite right? Do your fingers refuse to play trills? This two-week intensive will start by giving you some basic academics about correctly deciding which notes you should be playing in each unique trill. We will then discuss how to train your ear and fingers to play consistent elegant trills each and every time, using proven practice techniques that you can incorporate right away, no matter what level of study you are currently at.
Week 1 assignment:
- Pick 1 or 2 trills within your repertoire (or dream repertoire) to analyze
- On blank sheet music paper, write out the entire ornament, including (and paying special attention to) the preparation (vorschlag) and termination (nachschlag) of the trill.
- Either record a video discussing or type out your rationality/decisions behind why you specifically chose the preparatory notes and terminating notes that you chose, as well as why you chose the subdivision tempo for the main part of the trill. For example, "I chose to initiate the attack on the note itself instead of the note above because I wanted to emphasize the main melodic contour and create a more stark delineation of beat. I then chose to do precisely 4 sixteenths per left-hand note because I like how the primary note is then contrapuntally emphasized on each beat and I think it balances the energy with accuracy. I then chose to do the somewhat anticipatory notes at the termination because it more elegantly sets up the next section, which needed a more placed set-up vs. a direct entry, since this was the end of a major structural section of the piece."
- Bonus, record yourself playing the exact written version of your trill.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovZlaJdMhog
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Hi Leann!
Thank you for leading us in this TWI!
Apologies to everyone for such a long post!
I am trying to work on the long trills in Bach's Invention No. 4.
There are a few short trills in this piece - the usual ornamental trills that, being short, are fairly straightforward I think. (Although you've given us a lot to think about with "contrapuntal emphasis" etc Leann!)
The long trills are a mechanism to sustain the note of the trill while the melody flows in the other hand. (Thus I think these long trills are different from those in the Chopin example where the RH trill is in the melody line and the LH is accompaniment?) These trills might also be rather straightforward, but I find some things about Bach's trills that are rather confusing. For the RH trill, the ornament is "short", i.e., 2 squiggles. For the LH trill, the ornament is "longer", i.e., 3 squiggles. People's discussions of these trill marks differ (short vs long or no difference at all). If one takes the definition of the 3-squiggle ornament as long, then it is supposed to be accented on the first note, followed by regular trilling. The ornament chart in my Henle edition doesn't entirely help as it doesn't have the long squiggle, denoting an accented trill, without some extraneous mark before the note! Ah well, perhaps there's room to make my own decisions!
In deciding the note length for the trill, I note that the baroque 3/8 time has a brisk tempo (except when I play it!), so I think 32nd notes against the 16th notes of the melody are as much as I can handle. I've tried to play more notes, but it just sounds like chaos even at my tempo. Also, I think anything more would sound too buzzy for an accompaniment. It's difficult enough for me to keep the LH trill quiet.
The ends of both of these trills are tied across the bar line to the 1st beat of the next bar, so I think a nachschlag would be out of place. Rather than a nachschlag, it seems best to terminate both early, one beat before the bar line. I think this helps the transition to the next measure, where the trilling hand takes up motion again, w/o overwhelming/startling the melody line. I don't think a vorschlag is appropriate either since neither is a melody line.
The difference I make between the 2 trills (if there is supposed to be one) is that I start the RH trill slowly on the upper note with 16th notes as for the LH for one beat, then I start the trill. For the LH trill, which I interpret as an accented trill, I do not start on the upper note since the F with the Gsharp in the RH is dissonant and I like the sound of starting with the E better, especially if the note is to be accented. If I were to play w/o the accent, I would just start the trill on the upper note and start straight off with 32nd notes. There are a lot of dissonant sounds in these measures and it seems difficult to minimize the number, though starting off on the primary note does seem slightly better.
My written-out versions are hopefully attached.
RH Measures 19-21:
LH Measures 29-33:
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Thank you Albert ! I really appreciate the feedback. What a lot of great information!
I have been reading Richard Troeger's book on "Playing Bach on the Keyboard". It has so much useful information that it's a bit overwhelming for a beginner like me. However, I should have realized that when he didn't mention anything about 'm' and 'n' markings in the discussion of ornaments that there was no difference.
In any case, I will now keep those 2 rules firmly in mind as I learn more of this mind-blowing composer!
Thank you again for taking the time to give me your feedback.
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Michele ok, a few things here.
1. Embrace the point I made that there is no ONE definitive way. There are some wrong ways, but there is no one and only way to do ornaments. The whole development of ornaments was to be exactly that... ornamental! They are embellishments, not a set of rules. Because the music had this element of "structured improvisation," people put all kinds of notation down to get the vibe. In more modern day, I think of how when I read a jazz lead sheet, there are obvious wrong things to play but there are many options of chord substitutions, voicings, that I can do on the same measure.... there is no one single way because the style and history of jazz also incorporates a lot of structured improvisation.
2. You also have to keep in mind that editors and musicologists will all have different opinions about what was written prior and, often, to be scholarly, will be super nitpicky but almost to a deficit.
3. The two parts you have circled are interesting. Notation-wise, the first one actually appears to be a upper-mordent (play the note, go above by step, return to the note). The second one (with the longer squiggle) can be seen as a musicologist's attempt to be fancy and show that Bach wasn't clear..... or can be seen as Bach, musically, doing an equivalent passage but being a little sloppy with his quill because he didn't think we would be sitting here in 2025 caring if it was a mordent or a trill. Musically, we can think that we might do something similar, since the notation is similar.
4. We do want to keep things consistent in structure. For example, if you do a specific figuration with a specific style/articulation, you will want to keep that consistent for the duration of the piece and only do changes where indicated or structurally intended/significant. Lack of consistency in your musical/style choices can lead the piece to lack cohesion and sound amateur, even if you are not an amateur player. Therefore, if you make a specific studied choice about a marking, you will want to stay consistent with it throughout, which can help in your study because one instance may help inform another.
5. In these circled cases, I want you to get in Bach's shoes. He was not the infamous person he is today when he was writing this. This was just part of his gig. He was notating things down to make music and make $. He knew that, stylistically, people of his time might read the squiggles as indication to ornament and would ornament appropriately. I would read squiggle = ornament, not squiggle = exact # of alterations in a specific metric pattern. Based on this passage, I would change my approach depending on instrument. If I was doing this on organ, I might just do a mordent and then hold the sustained note. If I was doing this on harpsichord, I might do a sustained trill.
6. I think your concepts about starting on the note/above the note are great! I think the ideas of doing slight holdings, accentations, etc. are too complex for real performance/audience ear. You only need to decide about if you are starting on or above the note, decide how fast you can evenly play the trill (if you decide to do a trill instead of a mordent), and then how to end, which you had some interesting ideas about.
Let me know if this helps!
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Hi Leann! I am playing Beethoven concerto 3, 1. movement. There are a lot of trills. Today I have looked what I am exactly playing and I got confused, because I didn‘t know . Really funny. But the biggest problem I have with the trill at the end of the cadenza. How can I practice it? LG Kerstin
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Kerstin
1. With bar 47 try taking out one of the "C-B" and doing just two notes per left hand note.
2. Bar 48 looks possible and ok!
3. Which trill do you want help with on this cadenza page?
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Dr. Leann Osterkamp He
On cadenza where left and right hand trill together.
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Kerstin I think this week's assignment is useful for this! If you can write out what you would like to achieve, you can better determine appropriate practice methods. I, personally, would probably always keep the "main" notes on the downbeats, in order to emphasize the reiteration of the GMm7 chord. Subdivide each beat, initially, for what feels most physically appropriate to your level.
I can better answer questions once I see your written out version, or if you would like to record yourself playing the passage :)
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Dr. Leann Osterkamp He Hello Leann, I would like to play it faster. But when I try left hand and right hand are not together anymore. https://youtu.be/-Y7YRxr33MA?si=Wpt-lEt2MLhkQEhe
How can I practice ?
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Kerstin Great question! I think a lot of things will actually be addressed in our Week #2 video which discusses more mechanics. The speed issues you are having are technique related. I would like you to try some of the concepts discussed in the second week video first and then, afterwards, let's revisit this question in that framework :)
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Dr. Leann Osterkamp He Thank you.
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Wow! What a nice way to work on trills - thank you. This is Chopin Nocturne in c# minor.
Not sure about the trill intros in bar 5, 11 and 13, especially 11. There seem to be so many opinions out there above when to place these - before the main trill, as a part of, etc. Tried listening to Garrick Ohlsson's recordings as a model, but confusing.
Compromise seems to be the old "put the left hand on auto" and let the right hand express the melody, bel canto style. Still confused. Will listen to more recordings to see how others do it. Wish Chopin were here :-)
Looking forward to how you work this out next week. Thank you for doing this.
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Pat Van Buskirk nice work!
1. Typically, with simple trills, we keep things simple. At the beginning it is safe to just start with the note itself or just the note above. I've noticed that on all of your trills you are doing a double approach note model, where you start on the note above, go to the note, go above the note, and then start the trill. I would say that this is a very fancy vorschlag! We usually only see this when either we are doing very hyper schmaltzy music or when it is written out. I think it could be used in this nocturne but maybe once at a very special moment... it doesn't quite fit the sentiment of this piece or the style in which Chopin would have played.
2. On m.5, you end by doing a leap followed by steps out of the trill. It is not really common to have leaps... we want to stay with stepwise motion. If you added an additional F# before the final E (making that end thing something like a quintuplet), that could work. Again, the fancy vorschalg makes a reappearance here in the nachschlag! I would keep m. 5 simple... it is the very beginning of the piece and we need to establish the tune before doing fancy things with it.
3. m. 11 is missing LH notes... so I think that is why you are confused? Can't quite comment on that measure since it is incomplete right now, although the ending is better with the stepwise motion.
4. I think m. 13 is more on the right track!
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Dr. Leann Osterkamp He My pdf includes the LH in m. 11; rechecked on this site. Please check your pdf viewer. Thank you for your comments.
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Pat Van Buskirk Hi-
Apologies, I think my comment was unclear. I can physically see all of m. 11.... however, you only currently have 3 quarter beats written out in the LH (6 eighth notes).... the measure should have 4 quarter beats (8 eighth notes). Additionally, most urtext additions have an eighth note c# at the end of the RH tune in that measure.... it seems like you eliminated that? Since it is a primary note, it cannot be eliminated. Let me know if this makes sense... if it does, retry that measure :) If not, I can send a screenshot of the LH in the measure for you to copy out.
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Coincidentally I had been working on this Chopin posthumous nocturne when this course came up. Perfect timing. Not sure why he gave instructions not to publish it, but like all of his pieces, it is a little gem. Thank you for your instruction.
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Thank you so much for this intensive! It’s rather timely for me, because I had just become aware that I try to avoid music with trills. The reason for that was a feeling of unpredictability and some sense of lack of control that comes with trill playing. At times they work well, but very often not. One friend once told that trills so often sound like doorbells that she does not play them at all.
The two trills that thrill me in particular can be found in Bach’s bicinium BWV 711.
In bar 18 note A in the melody gives a Vorschlag, Nachschlag also comes with the melody. In bar 9 I see two options. One more straightforward which goes well with the fast tempo of the left hand and would be in line with Baroque principle that trills are started on the top note.
Another way could be with a Vorschlag on H. I like this better because it seems more melodic, although the strong beats of the trill are not on the upper notes.
What do you think?
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Astrida nice work!
I am not sure if the "start on the note above" is actually a hard and fast "principle." I know in some countries/schools of study it is taught as a principle.... but I don't think it is actually a rule that is required to be in Baroque style. I think it is the difference if we take it as a "performance practice" rule vs. a actual musicological rule, if that makes sense.
That being said, I think your instinct was correct of having H as a vorschlag prior to the strong beat. It is essentially starting the trill on the note above, just early. The reason I would choose this interpretation is harmonic... the whole point of that trill is to set up the arrival to G Major. The two beats prior with the trill are outlining and implying a D7 chord, which functions here as the dominant chord in GM. By making sure the A of the trill aligns with the corresponding chord tones, it helps the ear recognize the D7 chord and the functionality. Without it, the two beats don't quite function correctly harmonically.
That is a great example of why we don't want to think that we HAVE to start on the note above. Maybe, stylistically, it was more common because it has a tad more "elegance" to it... but it is not a rule. Every ornament should be individually considered for purpose, structural function, and affect.
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Dear Leann, thanks a lot for this topic. I am working on Rameau's Tendres plaintes at he moment and I have a problem with measure 8. I am thinking of practicing as I noted below but I find it difficult to continue playing the RH while doing the mordent in the LH. Should I stop the RH trill at the mordent? Should I opt for a slower trill in the RH with two 16th notes in RH per 8th note in LH?
I would be grateful for any suggestions.
Sedef
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Sedef CANKOCAK Great example!
At the moment, your written out trill is quite fancy... changing durations also doing rearticulations of the E's.... I would avoid rearticulations of the same note in a row when doing trills because then it isn't really a "trill" anymore, it becomes a different kind of ornament.
If you start with the mordent and work outwards, it does sound quite crunchy to do any trilling with E on the emphasized note in the RH because then we hear that 7th. I might, personally, want to find a solution that allows my RH to have an F at that moment. I like the ending with the unification of the E to transition into the next measure with both hands.
It is not impossible to do polyrhythms with ornaments but, in this case, it is a pretty simple uncomplicated measure and doing something that complicated is a bit out of place.
I would look musically at the concept of the vorschalg, which is to create that scalar motion. I would probably choose to do the trill starting on the note above (the F) on the downbeats. You could try two notes per LH note, meaning the RH will do "F-E" per each LH note. When you get to the mordent, the F's will line up. At that moment I would match the rhythm of the LH and do a triplet in the RH in parallel, but would do "F-E-F" in the RH against the "F-G-F" in the LH, so it will be like the hands are doing a mini-convergence. I would keep your final Es together. I kind of like the penultimate triplet before stopping on the E from a musical standpoint, as though the tension kind of releases and then calms.
Let me know if this makes sense.
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Thanks very much for your comment. And I apologise for my careless writing: I was thinking I wrote a continuous trill but of course that should have been E-F-E, F-E-F, E-F-E and F-E-F instead of E-F-E repeated four times. I will work on the F-E in RH/8th in LH pattern and continue as you suggest.
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I have written and deleted this comment about six times now. Each version worked itself into a corner where your insistence on knowing and learning the precise number of notes to be played provided a direct answer to my frustration. Well done! The rest may well be physical issues.
Physically, trills are pretty simple, sort of like grace notes one direction and then the other. It's the turning around that is a problem. Scales are similarly simple, 'drumming' your fingers one way or the other over successive clusters of notes. It's the getting from one cluster to the next that is a problem. Sigh.
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Myron Gochnauer haha, yes, most of the time it is just that we try to skip some steps along the way because things "seem" easy... but, when we slow down, we realize that skipping steps is what causes some later issues. :) You can do it! It is hard for everyone.
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So happy to be able to participate in this trill intensive since it falls just before Adamant Piano Camp! Am thrilled that you chose to demonstrate trills using the Chopin c# minor Nocturne. That's exactly the piece I chose for my example. I wish I could provide a detailed musical/theoretical reason for my trill choices as you gave in the sample, but my current approach is based on the edition I'm using (the Vorshlags are already annotated) and my skill level (4 notes to the beat seems my max right now). My big take-away from your video is that this choice isn't written in stone and that the Vorschlaege given in my edition can change if I prefer a different approach. Thank you!
The two measures below are the same ones you covered in the video (m. 5 and m. 11). The triplet Vorchlaege in each measure is what is written in my score. Apologies in advance if the notation isn't quite correct, but you should get the idea. In most cases, I choose to start with 3:1 and then speed up to 4:1. I like the sense of the trill speed intensifying as you play. The quantity of 3:1 versus 4:1 for me is simply what will get my fingers to land correctly for the Nachschlag.
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Victoria Macdonald nice work so far!
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The trills in the coda of Paderewski's Minuet in G major. There appears to be neither a vorschlag nor a nachschlag to this series of trills. The D in this work occurs as a primary note throughout the price and as such, in the coda, it sounds right, at least to my ear, harmonically, to emphasize it here as a starting note in the 1st and 4th trill. As such, I followed the pattern of beginning each trill on the note of the melody, again to emphasize harmonically.
Mechanically, I am able to play a series of 3 trills per 1/4 note, although I recognize that a more rapid trill would be more appropriate. Anything slower than that feels pedantic.
At the end of the final trill, the D is repeated 2x, and although it's repetitive, any other pattern that I tried didn't seem to "fit."
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Adena nice work! I think you had sound judgement in choosing to emphasize both the harmony and the primary melodic notes.
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