Question about mordents on piano.

• Aug 21, 2018 - 20:25

On piano, would this be interpreted as both notes using the mordent or only the top note?
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Comments

That's not a turn, it's a mordent. It's a three-note figure: the main note, a second note, and the main note again, like a very short trill. Only question is whether the second note is above or below; read different sources and you'll different answers (including the terms "inverted") depending on the era, etc.

In reply to by xavierjazz

Just realized I misinterpreted and therefore the actual question - when you spoke of "both notes" I thought you were wondering if the second note was up or down, not I see you are asking if the ornament applies to the whole chord or just the top note. That is easier to answer - almost certainly, just the top note. Ornaments are not normally assumed to refer to multiple notes at once as they would not be easily playable that way.

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