Music Topic
Reading Music, Dots, and Ties
- Read notes
- Flashcards
- Quiz
- Confident
Study focus - 3 things
- Reading music means understanding pitch, rhythm, rests, and symbols on the staff
- A dot after a note increases its length by half of its original value
- A tie joins two notes of the same pitch into one longer sound
Section 1Reading music basics
Music notation shows what to play and when to play it. Notes show pitch and rhythm, while rests show silence. In plain words, the page is a set of instructions for sound and silence.
Section 2Staff, notes, and rests
The staff is made of lines and spaces where notes are placed. Higher notes sit higher on the staff, and lower notes sit lower. Watch out: rests must be counted just as carefully as notes.
Section 3Dots
A dot after a note adds half of that note's value. For example, a dotted half note lasts for 3 beats if a half note is 2 beats. Here's the trick: add the original value plus half of it.
Section 4Ties
A tie is a curved line joining two notes of the same pitch. The notes are played as one longer sound, not repeated. Ties are common when a note continues across a beat or bar line.
Examples
A half note is worth 2 beats. How many beats is a dotted half note worth?
A dot adds half the note's value. Half of 2 is 1, so 2 + 1 = 3 beats.
In the class recorder piece, two same-pitch notes are joined by a tie. How should you play them?
Play the first note and hold through the second note's value. Do not tongue or replay the second note.
Now let's water it
Session runs notes to flashcards to quiz back-to-back.