Skip to content
← Notation reference

Ornaments

Turn and inverted turn

Circle the written pitch with a compact upper-and-lower-neighbour figure.

See it in the score

Regular turn on C in Hensel's Mayenlied

The compact ornament circles a melodic pitch without interrupting the song-like phrase.

Open measure 42 in the piece
Regular turn on C in Hensel's Mayenlied From Mayenlied, Op. 1 No. 4 (piano part) by Fanny Hensel, source measure 42.

Passage playback follows the literal encoded notes, rhythm, tempo, and written directions in this excerpt. It is a study aid, not a model of a pianist's touch, phrasing, ornament realization, or pedal technique.

In a sentence

Circle the written pitch with a compact upper-and-lower-neighbour figure.

A regular turn typically traces upper neighbour, main note, lower neighbour, main note. Placement and historical style affect exactly when the notes occur.

The inverted sign reverses the contour. Reading the symbol's orientation matters because the two ornaments circle the same pitch in opposite directions.