The Appoggiatura - A Guide to Ornamentation
The Appoggiatura (leaning-note, from the Italian,. Appoggiare, German, Vorschlag, French, Port de Voix.)
1.
There are two kinds of appoggiatura, the long and the short (the latter is also called the acciaccatura); the time value of the appoggiatura is taken from the note before which it is placed (called the principal note); the long appoggiatura takes a much longer amount, the short appoggiatura is played as quickly as possible, and only robs the principal note of a small portion of its value. In old music both the long and short appoggiatura are indicated by the same sign, namely a note printed in small type.
2.
The long appoggiatura is not often found in music composed since the end of the eighteenth century (after this composers simply wrote out the music in full, without ornaments). It is indicated by a note printed in small type placed before a melody note (principal note), from which, if divisible into two parts, it takes half its value; the accent is placed on the appoggiatura.
3.
When the long appoggiatura is placed before a dotted note, it generally takes two thirds of its value.
4.
When the long appoggiatura is placed before a short dotted note, it sometimes takes one third of its value.
5.
When the long appoggiatura is placed before a note tied to a shorter one, it takes the whole value of the first note, even if it be a dotted one.
6.
When the long appoggiatura is placed before the highest note of an arpeggio chord, it should be played as follows:
