Lesson 12: Dotted Notes
Category: Lessons
If you have seen sheetmusic before, you may have seen a note with a dot following it. In fact, any note can hav a dot. A DOT placed after a note OR rest indicates that the length of the note is increased by one HALF of its original value. OK, what does that mean? Let’s work through some examples.
The WHOLE note is worth 4 counts. A dotted whole note is worth 4 counts plus 2 counts (1/2 of the original 4 counts). That means a dotted whole note is worth 6 counts.
The HALF note is worth 2 counts. A dotted half note is worth….. *drumroll*….. you guessed it! 2 counts + 1 count = 3 counts!
Now it gets interesting. A QUARTER note is worth 1 count. So what is a dotted quarter note worth? Well, it is worth 1 count (original value) + 1/2 count (1/2 original value) = 1 and 1/2 counts!
We’ll learn later about how to count these notes in music. Take a look at the diagram below.
Posted on November 15th, 2008 by sharlene
0 Comments