Turns feature in lots of Classical and Romantic piano music. They're abbreviations used to save composers time writing out extra notes. Sometimes these abbreviations can also make the piano music easier to read. But turns aren't only confined to "older" piano music. In fact, here I've used them to create a brand new exercise.
I began with a melody. In this case, I used a familiar tune from Haydn's "Surprise" Symphony. But as you'll discover, changing the melody into "turns" makes it sound very different. You can see Haydn's theme in the nearby graphic.
2. Add some Turns
I've taken Haydn's melody and used it as the basis for my turns exercise. Here is the first bar, which consists only of the first two notes from the theme. However, to make it more interesting, I've put a turn on each of the notes. I also distributed them between the two hands which are spread 2 octaves apart.
3. Q & A?
The second bar repeats the process. Normally doing the same thing over and over might sound boring. But two things help in this case. First, the two fragments of melody are spread far apart, giving two things to listen to. Second, the music goes quite quickly, meaning there's less chance for people to get bored. It's almost like a question and answer model -- the right hand asks the question, while the left hand answers.
4. Going Up!
The melody continues to rise, following Haydn's original. By the time you get to this stage, the piece really starts to become fun to play -- or at least, I hope it does.
5. And Down It Goes
After another bar the melody begins to move downward again. You can find the complete score by visiting my Sibelius page, which you can access by clicking here.
6. Hands Together
You'll notice in bar 8 that I've got both hands playing the same thing at the same time. This bit can be tricky, so make sure you practice it slowly. Once you get it right, it adds some much needed variety to the piece -- even if it is just an exercise.
This piece has 2 pages of music. The first page includes the written out turns, while the second uses only turn symbols. If you have a look at this second page you can see how much space is saved by using such abbreviations (and see nearby graphic, too).
And before you say anything, I know that technically the turn symbols don't indicate all the accidentals (sharps) I've included in the written out version. But then again, it's written out in full first, so you know what I'm after. And perhaps that's the reason why Mozart wrote out the turns in his "Turkish March."
8. One Good Turn Deserves Another...
Okay, that's what turns are all about. Use this exercise and the first turns exercise to become familiar with what they are and how they're played. Then, have fun playing music with turns in it. Or why not be even more creative and write your own? Whatever you decide, good luck with it!
){kind=link}
){kind=link}
| 