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In the IB Music Revision Guide, the author says that a cadence in the second movement of Haydn's Surprise Symphony (end of the first statement of the theme) is "decorated with a turn figure" (see image). My understanding of a turn is: "a short figure consisting of the note above the one indicated, the note itself, the note below the one indicated, and the note itself again." Maybe, it's almost an inverted turn, which would be complete if the second note of the 2nd bar here went back down. But is it correct to call this a "turn figure"?

enter image description here

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    Isn't C B A B exactly a turn on B by this definition?
    – Kilian Foth
    Feb 20, 2020 at 10:59
  • Of course, your right Killian, don't know how I missed that, it's been a long day. Thanks!
    – John MC
    Feb 20, 2020 at 12:35
  • But it's not really a turn if the notes are different lengths - the first B is held for half a beat (more or less - the appoggiatura may be before or on beat 2, depending on when the score was written). I'd say it could be calleda "turn sequence", but not really a turn "figure"
    – Tom Serb
    Mar 21, 2020 at 20:57
  • @TomSerb the notes are held for the same length. The grace note comes on the beat and takes half the value of the note to which it is applied. So each pitch has the duration of a sixteenth note. See the second example in the answer.
    – phoog
    Mar 23, 2020 at 12:50

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The notation with an appoggiatura, which the text calls a turn figure Figure notated as appoggiatura

is played

Appoggitura figure as played

That satisfies the simple definition of a turn as "a short figure consisting of the note above the one indicated, the note itself, the note below the one indicated, and the note itself again."

However, a turn notated as

Notated as a crotchet with turn

is perhaps more generally played as an ornament on the main note, however anachronistic that is for Haydn's music. MuseScore squishes the ornament even more than this, for example:

Turn ornament as played

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