Dotted Notes & Ties

How a dot or a tie makes a note longer than its plain value, with every dotted value counted out and how to tell a tie apart from a slur or a dot.

What's inside

• The dot rule: a dot adds half the note's value again, with a double-dot example
• Every dotted note value counted in crotchets, from dotted semibreve to dotted semiquaver, with how each is heard
• Counting exercises for the two common dotted rhythms
• Tie vs slur vs dot — how to tell the three apart
• When you must tie instead of dot: crossing a barline, or lengths a dot can't make