In the Baroque period, a mordent was a lower mordent and an upper mordent was a pralltriller or schneller. In the 19th century, however, the name mordent was generally applied to what is now called the upper mordent, and the lower mordent became known as an inverted mordent.

Feb 19, 2024 · Mordents (upper mordents) An upper mordent is made up of three notes, starting on the main note, going up to the note above, and then back to the main note again.

The upper mordent (German, Pralltriller) consists of the principal note, the note of the scale above, and the principal note again, played as quickly as possible in the time of the principal note. The third note should be of longer duration than the preceding ones, and should bear the accent.

A mordent is a rapid alternation between an indicated note, the note above (called the upper mordent, pralltriller, or simply mordent) or below (called the inverted mordent or lower mordent), and the indicated note again.

Feb 4, 2017 · An upper mordent, indicated by a plain squiggle, means you’ll do a quick turn between the note written, and an upper note. So if the note written is a “C”, you’ll play an upper mordent like “C-D-C” very quickly.

There are 2 main types of mordent you will come across – an upper mordent and a lower mordent or inverted mordent. (although it is worth noting that the mordent has developed over time and so some Baroque music may lend itself to a different interpretation).

Although many writers call the lower mordent an inverted mordent, others (including the Sibelius music notation program) call the upper mordent the inverted mordent.

In the late Baroque period and transition to the Classical period, writers called the upper mordent either a “Schneller” or a “Pralltriller.” They used the same symbol for both, but there was a distinct difference between the two ornaments depending on context.

"Upper Mordent" is a musical ornamentation technique and a variant of the Mordent technique. When performing an upper mordent, the customary approach involves initiating with the main note, then swiftly alternating between the main note and the upper auxiliary note, and ultimately returning to the main note.

Upper mordent – the principal and the note above, returning to the principal. Lower mordent – the principal and the note below, returning to the principal. This lower mordent needs to fit into the time of one crotchet (quarter note).