Lesson 26: Ornamentation Basics — Grace Notes
- Play an appoggiatura and an acciaccatura, and hear the difference.
- Add a grace note to a melody where the style invites it.
Let an extra note lead into the main note.
A grace note is a small extra note beside a main note. Here, a leaning grace (appoggiatura) takes half the main note’s time; a quick grace (acciaccatura) comes just before its beat.
Appoggiatura — a lean
Start the extra note on the beat, then move smoothly to the main note.
Play A-G pairs, each note lasting half a beat.
Play D-C pairs, each note lasting half a beat.
Acciaccatura — a crush
Flick just before the beat without delaying the principal note.
Play: Danny Boy — adding grace notes
Review Lesson 22’s low chromatic note; the full air waits until Lesson 49.
Play it plain, then replace the final half note with two equal quarter notes: one step above, then the written note.
Source: Petrie (1855), p. 57; transposed, accompaniment and slurs omitted.
Now play these
- Danny Boy — first half
- Compare the plain ending with your added grace.
- The Minstrel Boy
- Grace notes on the stronger downbeats.
After Lesson 29, try Carrickfergus: its triplets fit three notes per quarter-note beat.
When your added grace starts on the beat and the final note ends on time, three times, move on to Lesson 27.