ornamentation
Universal era
Definition
The practice of embellishing a melodic line with trills, mordents, turns, appoggiaturas, and other ornamental figures.
Interpretive Guidance
In Baroque music, ornamentation was expected to be improvised or added according to convention. Printed ornament tables (as in Bach's Notebook for Wilhelm Friedemann) indicate the composer's preferences. Ornaments generally begin on the beat in Baroque style.