source file: m1571.txt
Date: Mon, 02 Nov 1998 06:58:27 -0500

Subject: Off-Subject:  Trills

From: Gary Morrison <mr88cet@texas.net>

(I realize that this is a tad off the subject for the tuning list, but
since there's a lot of musicians here...)

   I've always been told that one should start trills on the upper of the
two notes (i.e., the note above the notated note).  I think my bassoon
teacher back in high school first pointed that out to me.  It seems like
that's what I've always heard in recordings as well, but I'll have to do
some listening.

   But this past Saturday, my saxophone teacher, who is working on his
music PhD but is first and foremost a jazz man, said that he'd always heard
that you should start on the notated note.  Since trills are rather rare in
jazz, I at first racked it up to his background.  However, I looked at the
venerable Harvard Dictionary, and it said that that is a controversial
topic, or at least that it depends on the era the music is from.

   I'm going to listen to some recordings to get some statistics along
those lines, but I'm curious:  what have you folks been told along those
lines?  Understand that I'm talking about true trills - not mordents and
such.

   Thanks!