What does a ~ mean atop notes?

[JazzMelon]

I came across a symbol I don't know, nor know anywhere to go about finding its name. the symbol repeats in this piece https://thesession.org/tunes/116 (the second one or 'X:2') as a ~ atop notes.

A further question, is there a go to chart of naming musical symbols out there?

[Jim Garber]

The Session has primarily celtic or ITM so that would probably be some sort of ornament, most likely a roll. Usually books of tunes don;t bother with those, leaving it to the musicians to put them in where they feel like.

Some info here on Irish fiddle ornaments.

[bobby bill]

Wiki is always a good place to start: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ornament_(music)

[foldedpath]

Yup, given the context of an Irish tune database, that squiggle indicates a roll around the target note. On mandolin you can try faking this with a series of hammer-ons and pull-offs, or try the easier "treble" ornament: a quick triplet.

It isn't very common, or necessary, to indicate rolls like this in sheet music unless it's a tutorial book. You're supposed to add ornaments yourself where you think they should go, but lone quarter notes are an obvious candidate.

[maudlin mandolin]

This sign indicates a turn (or gruppetto) where you have to play four notes as quickly as possible; the note above, the note itself, the note below and then the note itself again.

[foldedpath]

This sign indicates a turn (or gruppetto) where you have to play four notes as quickly as possible; the note above, the note itself, the note below and then the note itself again.

That may be true in the Classical use of the sign, but in this context -- the Irish reel "The Wind That Shakes The Barley " -- it would indicate a "long roll" on a fiddle or flute. That's 5 notes:

The primary note
A "cut" above on the target note
The primary note again
A "tap" below the primary note
The primary note again

All done very quickly, in the space of one beat. The link Jim posted above also mentions this, with different fingerings on fiddle. There is also a "short roll," but I think this would usually be a long roll on a quarter note in a tune.

It can be faked on a mandolin with hammer-on and pull-off around the note, but it's very quiet compared to rolls on a fiddle or flute, and tough on the finger callus. That's why mandolin and tenor banjo usually throw in a treble ornament here. Hammer-on and Pull-off rolls are easier on an octave mandolin, where there is much more sustain to work with.

[Ivan Kelsall]

Look here under the term 'Turn' - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_musical_symbols. It gives a slightly enhanced description of the one that Bobby Bill referred to,
Ivan

[foldedpath]

Look here under the term 'Turn' - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_musical_symbols. It gives a slightly enhanced description of the one that Bobby Bill referred to,

You mean the part where it says "When placed to the right of the note, the principal note is played first, followed by the above pattern."?

That gets closer to describing a roll in Irish/Scottish trad, but to get all pendantic about it, the sign wasn't placed to the right of the note in the OP's sheet music example (here, for reference, second setting down). So a Classical musician would interpret it as 4 notes, and an Irish trad musician would see it as a long roll and play 5 notes (with the primary note dominant).

I think it's important to honor the genre context here, because a Classical violinist or flute player probably isn't going to play a "turn" exactly the same way that an Irish fiddler or flute player will play a "roll."

[Ivan Kelsall]

I pointed to the Wiki explanation so as to provide a 'fuller meaning' of the symbol. The op.might find the same symbol in 'other' contexts than the one he refers to - hopefully,his further understanding will serve him well when he (she ?) does,
Ivan