What are Mordents and Inverted Mordents?

Posted on 08/08/2024, in

So, recently I’ve been playing my flute music and I found this in my music:

Mordent

So… let’s dive in what this is in music!

What is a Mordent?

On the left side you can see the mordent, and the “translated preforming version”. Simply put, a mordent is sort of like a lightning bolt rotated 90 degrees. A mordent is a fast alternation between two notes, the indicated note (the note the mordent is on) and the note above Here is an exampe of how an mordent looks and is preformed: How Mordents look and are played

What is an Inverted Mordent?

An inverted mordent is the opposite of a mordent. It includes the same rapid alternation between two notes, but for the inverted mordent the notes are the one indicated and the note below. Here is a illustrated representation: How Inverted Mordents look and are played

The Variants

Ultimately, mordents and inverted mordents are symbols used in music notation. However, different variations have been derived from these original symbols.

Variations of Mordents!

An Important Question

While I was learning about Mordents and Inverted Mordents I was wondering: How do Mordents/Inverted Mordents compare with Trills?

First let’s compare how they look like in sheet music.

Trills Versus Mordents

Look closely at the zig-zag for the trill. It looks similar to the one zig-zag of the mordent! Additionally, if you remember, trills are played on the indicated note and the one above it. (Don’t Worry, I attached the trill diagrams below: ). Comparatively, the diffrent types of trills are like the mordents! If you don’t know what Baroque trills are: “A Baroque trill often looks like the top notation but is performed as in the bottom notation. Baroque trills may also be indicated using a plus sign (+) instead of the tr notation”(Tina Christie Flute par 8). Below is a representation: Baroque Trill and Normal Trill