Turns are ornaments that help us interpret the composer's wishes. But have you ever wondered what a turn really is? Here's a guide to help you get your head round turns once and for all. You can refer to my exercise "Taking Turns" to see and hear what I'm talking about.
Difficulty: Average
Time Required: A few minutes
Here's How:
In this score I've written the turns out so you can see how they're constructed. The first turn occurs on the second, third, fourth and fifth notes of the melody in Bar 1.
You'll notice that the "written out" turn comprises a collection of notes. The main note that would have the turn symbol written above it in this case is C. So the turn is comprised of the note directly above C, C, the note directly below C, and C again. In other words, D, C, B, and C.
The third and fourth bars are the first 2 bars repeated one note higher. Again there's a turn written out, this time around the note D, giving us the notes E, D, C and D.
You'll recall from the Write Ragtime Piano Music article that playing the same music in a higher or lower place on the piano is called a sequence.
Next, the melody takes off and does its own thing for a while. Having reached a high note (A) it begins coming back down the scale again to ultimately rest on C.
You'll notice in the last bar that the melody ends with what's basically a "mixed up" turn. That is, it uses the same notes from the very first turn -- D, C, B, C -- but this time in a different order. This is the variety I keep talking about whenever I discuss writing music.
And speaking of variety, you'll have worked out by now that the two hands are playing in very different ways. While the right hand plays legato for most of the tune, the left hand accompanies with 2-note staccato chords until the final chord.
Of course, turns aren't usually written out. They're normally indicated by the turn symbol you should be able to see in the graphic nearby. But this way you get to play them "note by note" and remove any uncertainty once and for all.
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