Dots and ties – free music theory course

With only whole, half, quarter and eighth notes, how do you write a note lasting three beats? Two tools let you lengthen durations.

The tie

A curved line joining two notes of the same pitch merges them: you play the first one and hold it for the length of the second, without replaying. It is the only way to sustain a note across a bar line.

The dot

A dot to the right of a note lengthens it by half its value:

dotted half = 2 + 1 = 3 beats;
dotted quarter = 1 + ½ = 1½ beats;
dotted eighth = ½ + ¼ = ¾ of a beat.

A double dot adds a half, then a further quarter: double-dotted quarter = 1 + ½ + ¼ = 1¾ beats.

M:3/4
L:1/4
Q:1/4=90
K:C
B3 | B2- B | B3/2 B/ B | B2 B- | B3 |]

Bar 1: a dotted half. Bar 2: a half tied to a quarter — same sound, different spelling. Bar 3: the dotted quarter + eighth pattern, one of the most common in all music. Bars 4–5: a tie crossing the bar line.

Dotted quarter + eighth in a melody

M:4/4
L:1/8
Q:1/4=90
K:C
C3 D E2 C2 | E3 F G4 | G3 A G2 F2 | E2 D2 C4 |]

How to count a dotted quarter? Subdivide into eighths: "1 - and - 2 - and". The dotted quarter fills "1 - and - 2", the eighth lands on the "and" of 2. It falls between beats: feel beat 2 clearly while you hold the note.

Tie or slur? A curve between two different notes is not a tie but a slur (legato): you play both notes, connecting them smoothly. Always check whether the joined notes are at the same pitch.