In today’s blues lead lesson we’re going to talk about something called “ornaments,” in the classical world…

And while this ain’t classical music by any means, these ornaments are still pretty darn cool, and worth your time to start mastering.

There are 3, the trill, the “tweedlie” (a mordent, I believe, if you want to be fancy and hold your pinky up) and a turn (which, is different the way I use it than in classical music… but just by a little.)

If you can get these down, you can take even the simplest of idea and make it sound way cooler!


    21 replies to "Trills, Tweedlies, and Turns, Oh My!"

    • Roy Rupert

      In music, a mordent is an ornament indicating that the note is to be played with a single rapid alternation with the note above or below. Like trills, they can be chromatically modified by a small flat, sharp or natural accidental. The term entered English musical terminology at the beginning of the 19th century, from the German Mordent and its Italian etymon, mordente, both used in the 18th century to describe this musical figure.

    • Jack Flash

      Need to practice that more for quickness……great lesson

    • tony

      I just got the news that Eddie Van Halen passed away on Oct. the 6th . today being the 10th . Sad news he was one of the greatest guitar players . Invented the tap method .

    • Interstate slim

      Thanks Griff, good reminder on keeping it interesting and not getting stale on the solos. I have a lag hyvibe guitar (acoustic) and am able to get it to work like an electric. It’s my on the road guitar( truck driver). If you don’t know what one is, you seriously have got to check it out. It’s my one my favorites, next to my prs solid body. Enjoy your day.

    • Jumpin Jack Flash

      very interesting….very informative …

    • John Weaver

      Great stuff, just what I needed. Thanks

    • Bob Barker

      Great lesson as always, Griff.
      I have a question please. In the Turnaround you used a slide instead of the usual hammer-on/pull – off in one of your examples. Is there any benefit or reason for using a slide instead of the hammer-on /pull-off? I’ve seen quite a few guys using the slide up and back 1 fret recently and wondered about the reasoning behind doing this.
      Cheers,
      Bob

    • ChrisGSP

      Aston Martin Vantage T-shirt? Nice car, and a bit of a change from your usual music-themed shirts, Griff. And is this the first time we’ve seen the Gold-Top Les Paul? Cool lesson.
      Cheers from the Land of Oz,
      ChrisG

    • David Chaffe

      Hi Griff, maybe I missed this but does the turn use a note that is not in the scale “officially”? Since it is only a 1/2 step, is that what makes it a turn?

    • Brian

      Yes, very cool! and yes, I did dug it.

    • DaveyJoe

      Good advice. Thanks for the lesson Griff.

      6/27/18

    • Alexander

      Great video, always so informative. Could you include the tab for the turn around. I’ll have to watch it a few times to understand that, but overall I really dig this lesson. Thanks!

    • Dan

      Is there any other kind of string besides EB Slinks?

    • Mark

      Cool lesson thanks Griff!

    • Steve Schory

      You were right on everything except the spelling. Its mordente.

    • mike z.

      Griff , this is a big help to me to add a little “pizazz ” to a riff . I have been using the trill , but this really sounds great . Thanks for this great lesson . Mike Z.

    • David

      Hi,

      Does anyone know what strings Griff uses on this Les Paul?

      I can’t get these bends and pull-offs on my Epiphone LP

      Sounds good.

      • Lloyd Hanson

        Historically, Griff uses Ernie Ball Slinkys, usually .010 (EB item number 2221).

      • Griff

        Lloyd is correct. Been using them for many years.

      • tony

        10s i believe

    • Geo

      Excellent, excellent, excellent. Clear, concise and straight to the point.

      Geo J

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