Chapter 1 · Lesson 06

Dotted Notes and Ties

⏱4 min read

In the previous lessons we saw the basic note values and the rests. All those values double or halve: whole, half, quarter, eighth. But if you need a duration that simple halving can't produce, say three beats or one and a half beats, music notation gives you two tools: the dot and the tie.

01The dot on a dotted note

A dot next to a note makes it a dotted note, which means it adds half of the original value to its duration. In other words:

  • Dotted half = half + quarter = 3 beats (syllable ta-a-a).
  • Dotted quarter = quarter + eighth = 1½ beats.
  • Dotted eighth = eighth + sixteenth = ¾ of a beat.

The same rule applies to rests (a dotted rest lasts 1.5 times the duration of the original.)

02Combining note values

Here are some of the combinations you will run into, grouped by total duration. Dotted notes, which use their own syllables, are shown separately.

2 beats

Some of the combinations without dotted notes that fill 2 beats:

Rhythm · syllables · beats
Description
quarter + quarter
quarter + pair of eighths
pair of eighths + quarter
quarter + quarter rest
4 two-beat patterns without dotted notes.

The matching combinations with dotted notes for 2 beats:

Rhythm · syllables · beats
Description
dotted quarter + eighth
eighth + dotted quarter
dotted quarter + eighth rest
Two-beat patterns with dotted notes. The orange lines show the 3:1 ratio in duration.

Notice that we use tam instead of ta. The closed "m" cuts the dotted note's syllable off sharply, so that the next, shorter note or rest can sound right after it.

1 beat

Some of the combinations without dotted notes that fill 1 beat:

Rhythm · syllables · beats
Description
quarter
pair of eighths
four sixteenths
eighth + eighth rest
4 one-beat patterns without dotted notes.

The matching combinations with dotted notes for 1 beat:

Rhythm · syllables · beats
Description
dotted eighth + sixteenth
sixteenth + dotted eighth
dotted eighth + sixteenth rest
One-beat patterns with dotted notes. The orange lines show the 3:1 ratio in duration.

03The tie

A tie is a curved line that joins two notes of the same pitch. You don't play them separately; you play them as one continuous note whose duration equals the sum of the two.

In rhythmic solfège, say the syllable or syllables of the note that results from joining the two. The second note gets no syllable of its own.

The tie joins two notes of the same pitch into one. Two tied quarters last as long as one half note.

04Ties across the barline

The tie becomes essential when the duration you want carries on into the next measure (that is, it crosses the barline). A dotted note cannot be split across two measures, but a tie does it naturally. That is why both tools exist instead of just one.

Here is how it looks in 4/4:

At the end of the first measure the quarter is tied to the quarter at the start of the second. Together they sound as long as a half note, and the syllable "ta-a" is said once for the two beats that bridge the two measures.

Recap

  • A dot next to a note or rest adds half of the original value. Dotted half = 3 beats, dotted quarter = 1½ beats.
  • Syllables: a dotted half on its own = ta-a-a. Combined with a shorter note, dotted notes take tam (e.g. tam-ti, tam-ka).
  • A tie joins two notes of the same pitch into one continuous note. You say the first note's syllable once and hold it.
  • A dotted note and a tie can produce the same duration. The tie is used when the duration crosses the barline.

Want to work on this together? Lessons