See? I told you I'd have questions soon enough.

I've started a new piece recently that I wanted to learn on my own, without the help of my teacher. It's Chopin's Nocturne #20 in C-Sharp Minor. Well, I've gotten really far into it -- to measure five! Wow, I know, I must be a prodigy.[/sarcasm]

Anyways, yeah, I have a tremolo question. I know a tremolo is going from one note to the other, and I've listened to many recordings of Nocturne. But what if the tremolo doesn't show what to notes you're supposed to switch back-and-forth from? Maybe it does, and I'm just blind. Chances are, it's me being blind.

http://sheetmusicarchive.net/compositions_b/chopbi49.pdf

It's on the first page, naturally, and measure five. Does it mean to go from "F-sharp" to "G-sharp"?

Someone please knock some sense into this idiot.

This is not a tremolo, but a trill, and I believe it ought to be played starting on the f#.

In piano music, a tremolo is similar in that it involves rapidly altenating between two notes, but its effect is much different, and usually involves larger intervals, such as the octaves in the pathetique sonata.

A tremolo in vocal music is to rapidly repeat the same note, and is pretty well confined to bel canto composers such as Bellini and Donizetti. I suppose this usage may creep into Chopin's piano music too, as he was influenced by those composers. But it is not usual.

It is common in string music, and executed the same as in vocal music.

In any case, your example is a trill, and I believe it ought to start on the f#.

Tomasino

Thank you for your help. I didn't realize that a tremolo and a trill were two different things. Hopefully now, it'll sound right.

Thanks!

OK!

http://voice.paly.net/images/features/punch.gif

Just as a side note, generally when you are playing anything post-Classical Era, you should trill on the note shown, and go up from there (unless otherwise indicated by a grace note before the trill on the note above). Anything Classical or earlier can be trilled beginning on the upper note, with some exceptions.

As to what note to trill to, generally you go diatonically, so in this case, trill up to G#. If they wanted you to trill to G natural, they would have a natural sign next to the tr marking.