APPOGGIATURA, a-pod'A-t(713'ret (It., from appoggiare, to lean, rest). One of those me lodic ornaments which arc regarded as accessory notes having no time-value, and which are printed in small characters. There are two dis tinct varieties of the appoggiatura. the long and the short. The Long Appoggiatura was a device of the early classic composers. who disliked to use unprepared suspensions, and invented the idea of covering or disguising them by writing them in small notes, as mere embellishments of the melody. This unhappy inspiration has been a source of needless trouble to the music-student, who is obliged to learn various rules for the proper execution of this device, in which a note is given one value in writing and another in performance. The time of an appoggiatura is taken from that of the following or "principal" note, and the appoggiatura note is marked with its actual value, while the principal note is marked with the value which both together have. The general rule for its execution is that the appoggiatura is played exactly as if it were writ ten as a large note, and the following note is given what remains of its face value, as shown in the following examples: The Long Appoggiatura always occurs on, the beat, and has, therefore, the accent which the principal note appears to have. When written
before a chord, the appoggiatura only delays the note to which it belongs.
This device has been entirely discarded by modern composers, and Dr. Hugo Riemann wisely suggests that in new editions of the old works it should be removed, and the notes re written in the form in which they are to be played.
The Short Appoggiatura, now commonly called a graee-note, also originated in the early classic period. It is written as an eighth note, with a stroke through the stem, and is played so quickly that it really has no perceptible time value. Opinions differ as to whether it should be played on the beat or before it, the difference being merely a question of accent. The classic tradition and conservative opinion demand its execution on the beat. but many musicians of the present (lay consider it more graceful and more truly ornamental if played without accent, before the beat. The final decision must be left to the taste of the performer.