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A trill, also known as a "shake", is a rapid alternation between an indicated note and the one above it. In simple music, trills may be diatonic, using just the notes of the scale; in other cases, the trill may be chromatic. The trill is usually indicated by either a tr or a tr~~, with the ~ representing the length of the trill, above the staff.

At a moderate tempo, the above might be executed

A mordent is a rapid alternation between an indicated note, the note above (called the upper mordent, pralltriller, or simply mordent) or below (called the inverted mordent or lower mordent), and the indicated note again. The upper mordent is indicated by a short thick tilde (which may also indicate a trill); the lower mordent is the same with a short vertical line through it.

As with the trill, the exact speed with which a mordent is performed will vary according to the tempo of the piece, but, at a moderate tempo,

A turn is a short figure consisting of the note above the one indicated, the note itself, the note below the one indicated, and the note itself again. It is marked by a backwards S-shape lying on its side, sometimes known as an "inverted lazy S", above the staff. The details of its execution depend partly on the exact placement of the turn mark.

An appoggiatura is an added note that is important melodically (unlike an acciaccatura) and suspends the principal note by a portion of its time-value, often about half, but this may be considerably more or less depending on the context. The added note (the auxiliary note) is one degree higher or lower than the principal note, and may or may not be chromatically altered. Appoggiaturas are also usually on the strong or strongest beat of the resolution, are themselves emphasised, and are approached by a leap and left by a step in the opposite direction of the leap.

An appoggiatura is often written as a grace note prefixed to a principal note and printed in small character,

The acciaccatura In the 18th century, it was an ornament applied to any of the main notes of arpeggiated chords, either a tone or semitone below the chord tone, struck simultaneously with it and then immediately released.