Does it matter which way you turn?

[miker]

The Finale turn ornament is this:

Screen Shot 2017-08-04 at 1.22.58 PM.png (38.34 KiB) Viewed 4144 times

In the piece that I'm copying, it's flipped. Do they mean different things to the organist? I'm sure I can find the reversed one, but does it matter?

[zuill]

The usual turn sign with a line through it usually indicates an "upside down" turn. However, there might be a different tradition I am not aware of.

Zuill

[Peter Thomsen]

Quoting Wikipedia:

An inverted turn (the note below the one indicated, the note itself, the note above it, and the note itself again) is usually indicated by putting a short vertical line through the normal turn sign, though sometimes the sign itself is turned upside down.

The font November2 has all the “variations on the theme”:

[miker]

The one in this score is the second from the left. I guess I should change it, just in case!

[Harpsi]

If the composer is using both symbols I would keep them that way. If only the inverted turn is used and it is obvious that a normal turn is intended, I would change it but write something about it in a footnote.

It is improvised anyway. I would probably just do something and maybe even not the same every time.

[Anders Hedelin]

Since only the first symbol is generally known among musicians (myself included), it might be a good idea to spell out the non-standard turns in notes. When used for improvisatorily variated turns, maybe a footnote telling so would be helpful?

[John Ruggero]

Hi Anders. I just wrote a post that said the same, but it just got lost.

Only if it is a critical edition should the original notation be retained. Otherwise it would be best be written out as three little notes as it has been since the beginning of the 19th century since it is so easily confused with the normal turn or even a mordent if the version with a line is used. (Haydn used an ornament that looks like a little turn with a line that is still not completely understood.) And if it is a recent composition, the chances are good that the composer intends a normal turn and made an error. If he actually intended an inverted turn, he should be advised that it will invite questions.

[BuonTempi]

I suspect many players might not even notice that the turn is "the wrong way round" if the other one is not nearby to compare.