Turn with slash

A turn with a vertical slash is often taught as an alternative sign for an inverted turn, beginning below the written note. This is not historically universal: SMuFL keeps 'turn with slash' and 'inverted turn' as separate glyphs, so an edition's ornament table takes priority.

Turn with slash: music notation symbol placed above the note. A turn with a stroke through it — usually the inverted form.

The sources do not fully agree about this sign. The explanation above says where they part company.

Family
Ornaments and grace notes
Where it sits
Above the note
What it looks like
A wave or squiggle, A slash

Do not confuse it with

This form has a stroke through a normal turn; the dedicated inverted-turn glyph is the turn shape itself inverted.

What the sources say

  • Steps to Music Theory — Compound Meters Texas A&M University
    if there is a line through the middle of the turn, the turn first descends, then ascends.
  • Study: Ornaments Clements Theory
    It can be written in two ways ... either the same as a normal turn but with a vertical line through, or as an upside-down version of the normal turn.
  • SMuFL — Common ornaments W3C Music Notation Community Group
    ornamentTurnInverted — Inverted turn ... ornamentTurnSlash — Turn with slash

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