Trillo

As Printed on a Score

Rarely printed as a word: a trill is shown by tr (often with a wavy line for its length) over the note, and trillo appears mostly inside phrases such as quasi trillo or in Italian prefaces. An accidental over the tr alters the upper note; small notes at the end show the closing turn.

Abbreviations: tr, tr.

How Composers Use It

Write tr. and let the convention work: the trill alternates the written note with the note above in the key unless an accidental says otherwise. Baroque trills usually begin on the upper note; by the 19th century a main-note start was normal, so if the start matters, show it with a small note. In early 17th-century Italian singing, Caccini’s trillo was a rapid repetition of one pitch — not this ornament at all.

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