Trills: Up or Down?

Question:We one is supposed to play a trill, how do they know if the trill in the piece goes from the original note to the step (or half step) below it or above it?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: We one is supposed to play a trill, how do they know if the trill in the piece goes from the original note to the step (or half step) below it or above it?

Don't listen to these other people. I perform baroque pieces quite a bit, so I know. The note you see printed is ALWAYS the "fundamental" note -- that is, it's the note that appears IN THE CHORD being played at the time the trill occurs. The trill is ALWAYS the "upper neighbor"-- that is, the note directly ABOVE the note you see written. The upper neighbor is ALWAYS in the key of the piece. So never use an accidental to alter the upper neighbor. It's always IN THE KEY signature. Whether that means a half step or a whole step depends on this alone.

So really (in a major key), the only time you would have a half step trill is when the note you see written is either the 3rd scale degree (mi) or the 7th scale degree (ti).

In minor, you could only have a half step trill if the written note is the 2nd scale degree (ti), or the 5th (mi), or the raised 7th (si).

Also, there's a difference between "classical" trills and "baroque" trills. If it's a baroque piece, the trill usually (but not always) STARTS on the upper neighbor first. In classic period music, the trill (usually, but not always) STARTS on the fundamental and goes upward to the upper neighbor.

A trill NEVER starts on the fundamental and goes down. EVER!

I hope all this makes sense.

(The person above me is right, too, but I just went into more detail. It is true that the composer can sometimes sharp or flat the upper neighbor, but you almost never see that.)

it always goes 1/2 step up, unles it's a trill flat or states otherwise.

It does always go up but not necessarily a 1/2 step. It goes up to the next diatonic note in that key unless specifically stated to do otherwise. Diatonic just refers to the next note of that particular scale (sometimes being a half step sometimes a whole step). The composer will use an accidental to indicate the trill doing something other than that. For example a flat or sharp above the note.

First answerer is wrong; a trill goes up to the next note in the corresponding scale. For example, if you're playing in Eb major, you've got Bb, Eb, and Ab in your key signature, so if you're given a D to trill on, you'd trill up to Eb because it's the next note up in the scale. I've been told by many directors that when you trill, you actually start on the upper note of the trill and ALWAYS end on the given note. So, if you're trilling D to Eb, start on Eb, and end the trill on D...get it?

Actually, it depends on the era the piece was written in, the grace note immediately before the fundamental note, and the school (or the conventional fashion) of the composers of that region. Sometimes the fundamental note isn't even the fundamental. If the chord is the fifth and the trill is between a grace note of C and the main note (the big one that looks like all the other notes) B, you don't want to be shooting for the fundamental do you?

The trill can be either chromatic or diatonic depending on the scale wise progression, can come from above or below depending upon the era the music came from and sometimes even the composer who wrote the piece.

Whole books have been written on trills and more will continue to be written. I hope I haven't confused you more than helped you, but this is a very complicated subject and there are no easy answers to this one!

Often a trill will go up stepwise in the key that it is in - in other words if you are in C Major and your trill is on D, it will go up a step to E. If it is on B, it will go up to C. Excptions to being in the key will be noted by an accidental above the trill mark.

There is also an exception with some Baroque music. Some Baroque trills will go down instead. When in doubt, I'd look at the composer and time-period. If it is not Baroque, go up. If it is Baroque, I'd maybe listen to a recording or ask someone who might have played it. Also, use your ears for Baroque music. If it sounds wrong going one way, Baroque music is pretty distinctive and you should be able to tell that it isn't right.