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Rapid alternation between a written note and the note above it. Notated with "tr" or a wavy line.
Trills add brilliance, excitement, and ornamentation. In Baroque music, trills typically start on the upper note. In Classical and later music, they start on the written note. Long trills on dominant notes build tension before cadences. Specify whether you want a trill with specific termination (nachschlag).
Beethoven's Piano Sonata "Waldstein," finale — the extended trills in the coda create a shimmering, almost supernatural atmosphere.
Trill is one of 228 terms in the Gradus musical dictionary, where every definition is written around how composers actually use the word.
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