Trills, mordents, inverted mordents, turns, and grace notes are some of the ornaments you will come across in your flute music. Here are some resources for definitions, practice suggestions and a couple of links for you.
Note: Be sure to look up the trill fingerings and use them as an alternate fingering to help move through the ornaments cleanly, quickly and accurately. These should ultimately be memorized.
Books as Resources
Ornamentation: A Question and Answer Manual
Valery Lloyd-Watts, Carole L. Bigler
A thorough look at ornaments, how they are notated etc.
Whether you need resources for teaching ornaments or you want something to practice for yourself, here are some suggestions for practicing ornaments:
Beginner Level
Rubank Intermediate Method for the Flute
J.E. Skornicka, A.C. Petersen
Excellent explanations and some exercises
Page 30-31 – Grace Notes – Single and Double
Page 38 – Turns
Page 41 – Trills [Page 42-43 Trill Chart]
Emil Eck Flute Trills: A Book of Trill Exercises with Complete Trill Charts
Published by Belwin, Inc.
Trill exercises in many keys and time signatures and includes trills on notes of different lengths. Grace notes after a trill and Mordents are also covered. Pages 19 – 33 are actually short songs including the ornaments. Rhythms and key signatures suggest work for beginners, advanced beginners or intermediate players.
Intermediate Level
Rubank Adanced Method Flute Vol.I
WM. Gower, H. Voxman
Excellent explanations and some exercises: Pages 60-66:
Page 60 – Trills
Page 61 – Grace Notes
Page 61 – Mordents
Page 64 – Turns
Joachim Anderson Twenty-Four Exercises for the Flute, Op. 33
#22 – Grace Notes (g minor)
Joachim Anderson Twenty-Four Exercises for the Flute, Op. 63
#17 – Trills with Nachschlag (Ab Major, 3/8)
#19 – Mordents/Trill Fingerings – Although this is a triplet exercise, there are many opportunities practice your Trill/Alternate Fingerings (Eb Major, Cut Time)
#21 – Mordents (Bb Major, 3/4)
#22 – Turns (g minor. 2/4)
#23 – Grace Notes – On EVERY note! (F Major, 6/8)
Anderson 24 Instructive Studies for Flute, Op. 30
#9 – Grace Notes, Trills (E Major, 3/2)
#20 – Grace Notes – On EVERY note! (c minor, 3/4, triplets)
Anderson 24 Etudes Artistiques for Flute, Op. 15
No. 6 – Mordents, Grace Notes, Turns (D Major, 3/4)
No. 21 – Although written out sixteenth note triplets, this is great practice for you alternate fingerings for Mordents.
Platonov Thirty Studies for Solo Flute
Edited by Ervin Monroe
#2 in a minor – This is a great beginning exercise for practicing mordents and inverted mordents. Move tempo when you are able. You will notice that some of the trill or alternate fingerings you choose will sound different than regular ones.
Advanced Level
Joachim Anderson Twenty-Four Exercises for the Flute, Op. 63
#14 – Mordents (eb minor, 12/8 , 12 sixteenth notes in each measure with mordents interspersed
Joachim Anderson Twenty-Four Exercises for the Flute, Op. 21
#8 – Trills, Mordents (f# minor) This exercise includes a second staff with the ornaments written out for you to see. Does include double-sharps, trills to accidentals and – mordent to grace note to trill to nachschlag !!
Etudes de Salon & Solos ou Caprices
Francois & Johannes DonJon
Edited: Ervin Monroe
Cinquième Etude Var. 3 Vivement – Mordents and Inverted Mordents
Vingt-Quatre Caprices de N. Paganini
Jules Herman
Practice on these ornaments is incorporated in challenging etudes which include other components of technique.
#15 – Grace Notes
#17 – Grace Notes (octaves), Trills with Nachshlag
#19, #20 – Grace Notes, Trills
24 Caprices for Flute
William Schade
Southern Music Co.
#3 – Mordents
#9- Grace Notes – 3,4 and 5 note grace note practice
#19 – Trills
Vingt =Quatre Caprices de N. Paganini
Jules Herman
#10 – Grace Notes, Trills, Turns
#19 – Grace Notes, Trills, Mordents
#20 – Grace Notes, Trills
#24 – Variation I & III Grace Notes, Variation VII Mordents
Musical Symbols for Flutists
https://www.flutetunes.com/articles/musical-symbols/
Jennifer Cluff has a link to the Ornaments section of the Flute Method by Arthur Brooke – downloadable.
In music from the Baroque period, it is expected that you will add in ornaments when you feel it will add to your performance, a good reason to have them “under your fingers” so you are ready.
Here is a delightful quote:
“Upon the repetition of a strophe where the theme would become somewhat monotonous in the absence of words, the play may be allowed to take some license, and add little ornaments in suitable places: especially in bright and light melodies”.
The Flute and Flute-Playing by Theobald Boehm