How to Play Musical Trills: 3 Ways to Play Trills

A trill is a musical pattern that involves rapid alternation between a note and an auxiliary note directly above it. This upper note can be either a half step or a whole step above the principal note. The notes in a trill are meant to be played rapidly. In some cases, they're played as fast as a grace note or a single-note tremolo, which creates an effect that borders on vibrato. In other cases, they are more measured, sounding like sixteenth notes or thirty-second notes. While they are idiomatic to Classical music, trills are common in a wide variety of genres.

Typically, composers notate a trill by writing the letters "tr" directly above the principle note. Sometimes the "tr" is accompanied by a wavy line. Some trill notation consists of only a squiggly line and no "tr" sign at all. In traditional music theory, only the principal note of a trill appears on the musical staff; the upper note of the trill is assumed to be the next note in the diatonic scale within the key signature.

Some half-step trills add chromaticism that defies the key signature of a piece of music. When a chromatic trill does not fit the key signature, composers may put an accidental (a flat or a sharp) next to the trill sign. Or, to make their intentions entirely clear, a composer might simply indicate the trill as sixteenth notes or thirty-second notes on the musical staff.

When you try playing trills for the first time, focus on precision more than speed. Instead of trilling sixteenth notes, try trilling quarter notes and then increase your speed over time.

• Piano: While you can play a trill with any two fingers, your strongest fingers—your second and third fingers—are going to be best. Rapidly alternate between the two notes of the trill, ending on the principal note.
• Strings and woodwinds: Fingering trills on a woodwind or string instrument involves anchoring your fingers on the lower note of the trill, and then quickly tapping the upper note—either on the fingerboard of a string instrument or on particular keys of a woodwind instrument. Start slow, emphasizing accuracy and precision.
• Fretted instruments: On a fretted instrument like guitar or electric bass, the trilling technique can be achieved with a combination of a "hammer-on" and a “pull-off.” This involves fretting a string with your index finger and then letting another finger—usually the middle finger or ring finger—almost bounce off the fretboard and create a trill one step above the main note. As with other trilling techniques, the key is to practice slowly and precisely and gradually increase your speed over time.

Some players only perform trills when sheet music calls for it, but others add trills as a form of artistic expression, much as they might add an appoggiatura. Players of Baroque music frequently embellish music with trills, with the understanding that all music offers at least some space for improvisation.

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