About ornament signs

Above (clockwise from top left): Ornamentation examples by J.S. Bach (Clavier-Büchlein for Wilhelm Friedemann Bach), F. Couperin (Premier Livre de Pièce de Clavecin), J. Hotteterre (Premier Livre de Pièce 2nd edition), and Leopold Mozart (Versuch einer gründlichen Violinschule) 

​So I got a question about ornamentation signs, and whether there's a difference between signs used in the baroque times versus later periods, or whether different instruments used different signs. Here's a short answer - the baroque times had indeed more of a system of signs, because the style of using little ornaments was more prevalent in baroque music. However, after the classical period, a lot of these ornaments went out of fashion and so we don't tend to encounter them in later music, with a few exceptions such as trills and grace notes.

Sometimes if you look at modern reprints of earlier music, they may try to "spell out" the ornament by indicating with little notes instead of using the original sign. Unfortunately, the correctness of these are often a hit-or-miss. In addition, I believe the visual impact of notation is not to be underestimated. Signs convey much better and more efficiently the decorative nature of ornamentation. They are supplemental details of a main structure which enhance the expression of the music. This doesn't make them less important, but it's about every element having a very defined role in the entire composition. When the notes are spelled out, they often create a crowded, almost clumsy effect in the notation. We thus run into the risk of focusing on "getting the right notes" as opposed to internalizing the affect of the ornament. I certainly understand the need to have those notes written out so that the information is accessible for everyone, but perhaps a better and more pedagogical solution would be to use the signs (or as similar as possible) and include an explanatory chart with the work. AND with the right information of course!

Which is exactly what baroque composers did! These signs are often similar to those used by other composers of the time, so with some experience in reading facsimile prints, we as modern-day players learn to recognize them. We come closer to the spirit of the music when we understand that expressive connection between notation and interpretation.

Below: compare Rameau's original publication(1724) with Durand's(around the turn of the 20th century) of "Le Rappel des Oiseaux".