An ornament in which the written note is played followed by the note below the written note and the written note again.

An ornament in which the written note is played followed by the note below the written note and the written note again.

• A. Octave Sign
• B. Opus
• C. Marcato
• D. Mordent

Answer: (D)

Recognizing a rapid neighbor-note ornament. A mordent is played as a quick sequence where you strike the written note, immediately move to the note below it, and return to the written note in a very short time. The pattern described—written note, the note below, then the written note again—fits this exactly, and it’s the standard mordent (the variation that uses the lower neighbor). If the embellishment used the note above instead, that would be a different ornament (an upper/inverted mordent). The other options relate to unrelated ideas: an octave sign shifts the pitch by an octave, marcato is an articulation for emphasis, and opus is just a cataloging label.

Recognizing a rapid neighbor-note ornament. A mordent is played as a quick sequence where you strike the written note, immediately move to the note below it, and return to the written note in a very short time. The pattern described—written note, the note below, then the written note again—fits this exactly, and it’s the standard mordent (the variation that uses the lower neighbor). If the embellishment used the note above instead, that would be a different ornament (an upper/inverted mordent). The other options relate to unrelated ideas: an octave sign shifts the pitch by an octave, marcato is an articulation for emphasis, and opus is just a cataloging label.