In his book A guide to playing the
Baroque guitar,
James Tyler gives an invaluable account (pp 18 – 20) of the kind of ornaments or
graces used on the guitar at the time. Graces
were known in Italy as abilimenti or tremoli; in
France as agréments; in Spain as habilidades or
affectos.
I have made myself this useful
reference table from his considered opinions.
| Ornament | Common symbols * | Examples of how played † | Comments |
Vibrato |
# ♯ |
Thumb off neck, hold finger tip down and jiggle |
Vibrato was not played throughout a piece as we would now, just as an ornament |
Slur |
︶ ︵ (joining 2 or more notes) |
C h D (h E ...) E p D (p C ...) |
Produces dynamic rhythm effects as 1st note louder than the rest |
Arpeggio |
:∕: ⋅/⋅ |
Hold chord and play notes in pattern ad lib |
You need to see Tyler's book |
Trills |
t T • x ∙/∙ |
(It: trillo, tremolo. Es: trino, aleado) |
|
| — main note trill (It) | C h D p C ... | Normally 3 notes (when it is the same as an upper mordent); at cadences continue the pattern; used in Italian music | |
— upper note trill |
D p C h D p C ... |
(Fr: tremblement) Normally 4 notes; at cadences continue the pattern; used in French music |
|
Mordent |
| v + ‿ ## |
C p B h C |
(Fr: mortellement or pincé) Also lower mordent |
Appoggiatura |
(Es: esmorsata, apoyamento, ligadur. Fr: cheute) |
||
— descending app. |
t x ) , ︶ ︵ |
D p C |
|
— ascending app. |
︶
︵
|
B h C |
? play more languidly |
* As you can see, symbol use is a
minefield. Also, some composers used a general purpose symbol meaning
"use any grace you fancy". One just has to rely on the
learning of the editor.
† Explanation of the examples:
1. Assume key of C major
2. Notes written in the score are bold red (e.g. C),
3. The first note in a sequence is
plucked, the rest are rapidly hammered on (h) or pulled
off (p), to form a clear unit.
