Flute Trills & how to read and play them

Dear Fluters,

Re:
Jen's new trill page: How to play trills for flute in pdf: How to read trills in flute music

Update: 2017  See: new blog post on
Ornaments: Grace Notes, Appogiaturas, Trills, Grupetti
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Original:
2007: This morning I read an email query about a piece of music where the young flutist could not figure out how to read the trill markings, and which note to trill to. This is a topic usually covered in private lessons with an experienced flute teacher, as there are many rules for trilling on the flute, depending on what period of history the flute music was written.

I answered the trill question, and then went to google and tried to look up a "how to read trills" page online; unfortunately, there wasn't a comprehensive "how to trill for flute" page that I could readily suggest. I tried the search terms:

Trill "how to";
Flute Trills;
Reading Trills;
Ornaments and how to execute trills;
Playing correct trills;
description of reading trill notation;
Yes I tried all sorts of other terms in my hunt.
Result? Nada.....d'oh! :>)

So I created my own page for fluteplayers on "how to perform trills on the flute".

Here then, are all the most useful "how to trill" pages and links that I've created or found, including trill charts, books of trills, and references for analyzing trills based on the history of music and musical ornaments:

Jen's new trill page: How to play trills for flute in pdf:
How to read trills in flute music

For further more intricate trilling information, including trill terminations, trill length, and trill styles and counting trills etc. see the trill pages in the $7 old book (don't like this book for my own students, but the trill info. can't be beat): Rubank Method Advanced Vol. 1:
You can buy the Rubank Flute Advanced Method book almost anywhere.

Online Flute Trill charts:

Simple one page flute trill chart by Mark Thomas, printable pdf.

Extensive trill charts of flute fingerings from Woodwind Fingering Guide

Best book for flute trill fingerings, tremelo fingerings, and other alternate flute fingerings: Herszbaum's Flute Fingering Book.

The Grupetto and how to play it. This is another Baroque ornament that you might run into. These grupetto pages are useful for printing out (pdf).

How and when to use alternate fingerings for flute
and trills in Prokofiev and the Ibert Flute Concerto.

List of best flute fingering charts.

Extensive historical explanations of how to execute ornaments such as trills, appogiatura, grace notes, grupetti, turns, mordents and other Baroque ornamentation.
Music Theory Online.

Hope this helps the next flute student looking for information online about how to play flute trills correctly.

Best and happy May to you all,
Jen Cluff :>)