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WebRhythms is a series of short articles designed to teach rhythmic reading. Each article
includes musical examples that help explain the concepts and an exercise that tests your new
reading skills. Along with the written materials, WebRhythms allows you to download and print a
copy of each exercise and provides a computer-perfect MIDI performance at a number of
different tempi. With all these materials, it’s easy to be creative and challenge yourself while you
learn or improve your reading ability.

If you’re a novice at reading music, these articles will start you off by building a solid foundation.
Those of you with strong reading skills can use these lessons to brush up and polish what you
already know. The later lessons may even show you some new rhythmic ideas and procedures.
Monster readers can take the Pro Challenge. Do you have what it takes to keep up?

LESSON FIVE:
DOTS AND TIES
In this lesson, WebRhythms will cover dots and ties. We’re also going to look at a few new ways
to write rhythms you already know how to play.

Music notation is a little weird. There are a few variations that composers and copyists can use to
write the same rhythm. Last lesson, we talked about combining a sixteenth note followed by a
sixteenth rest into a single eighth note. Combined values is one way that rhythms may change in
their appearance. But, rhythmic figures can also make use of something called dots and ties.

Since dots are a little easier to understand, let’s cover them first. Dots (yes, they are nothing
more than little dots that follow a note or a rest) extend the normal value of a note. The amount of
extension depends upon the note’s value. Dots follow this rule: a dotted note equals three of the
next smaller value. So, what does this actually mean?

A dotted quarter note will equal the duration of three eighth notes since eighths are the next
smaller value below quarters. A dotted eighth note will be extended to equal the duration of three
sixteenth notes. Again, sixteenths are the next smaller duration after eighths. A dotted half note is
equal to the same duration as three quarter notes.

Dots can be applied to rests as well as notes. Dotted rests have the same duration as dotted
notes, and you simply observe the entire duration as silence. One thing must be made clear at
this point: the dot itself is not played. A dotted eighth note still has only one attack. It’s only the
note’s duration that has been affected by the dot. Dots are always placed in a space on the staff,
never on a line. If the note-head is in a space, then the dot is placed right after it. If the note-head
is on a line, the dot is placed in the space above the line.

Taking a look at the following example, you see a dotted quarter as the first symbol in the first
measure. Since this dotted quarter equals the same value as three eighth notes, play the note on
count “one” and continue counting “+ 2” (but don’t play these syllables). The single eighth note
that follows occurs on the “+” count of the second beat. At the beginning of the third beat, you see
a dotted eighth note. This note falls on the beginning of the third beat and has the same value as
three sixteenths. The sixteenth that follows comes on the “a” count of beat three. Of course, the
quarter note that ends the measure falls on count four.

(http://vicfirth.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/webrhythms-05example1.gif)
Most often, dotted notes are combined with the single note value that will complete a count. In
other words, a dotted quarter is most often followed by an eighth note (this completes two full
counts), and a dotted eighth note is usually followed by a sixteenth note (completing one full
count). Don’t forget that either of these two notes (the dotted one or the single one) can be
replaced with a rest of the same value.

The second measure of this example has the dotted note as the second note in a grouping. The
first count of this measure is sometimes called the “Scotch Snap”, because it is often used in
Scottish folk music. To perform this figure, play on the “1” and the “e” syllable only, as the dotted
eighth gets the value of the last three sixteenth notes in the count. The third and fourth beat of
the measure should be pretty easy to figure out. The eighth note falls on count 3, and the dotted
quarter is struck on the “+” of the third count and takes up the remainder of the measure.

Now, let’s take a look at the tie. Ties are small curved lines that connect two or more notes. As
their name implies, they “tie” notes together so that the first note has an extended duration. Let’s
make believe that we’re dealing with pieces of string instead of notes. If you lay two strings end to
end, you have two distinct starting points and two distinct ending points. If you tie them together,
you would create one string. Because the string is now a single piece, there is only one beginning
and one ending point. The string is longer, but now there are only two ends instead of four.

When two notes are tied together, you attack the first note at its normal position within the
measure. The duration of the first note continues until the end of the second note. The second
note is not attacked separately (it has magically become part of the first). In percussion music,
where only some of the instruments deal with duration, you can follow this simple rule: play the
first note of a tie and leave out the second. The end result is the same as if the second note were
a rest. Keep in mind, this rule works only for instruments that have virtually no duration such as
snare drum and wood block. Rests indicate silence, and the tie actually increases the duration of
a note. One more thing about ties, they are never used to connect notes and rests together.

In example 2, the first and second measures would sound the same on a snare drum (might not
sound the same if played on timpani, cymbals, or marimba). Because of the tie, the eighth note
that falls on count two has become part of the quarter note, so it isn’t played with a fresh attack.
The third beat of the measure begins with an eighth tied to a sixteenth note. Now, the eighth note
is extended to include the value of the sixteenth. If you take a closer look, you’ll see that this first
measure and the first measure in example 1 are exactly the same in every respect.
(http://vicfirth.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/webrhythms-05example2.gif)

Even though a dotted quarter followed by an eighth is the same as a quarter tied to an eighth,
don’t become confused. Ties and dots are not the same thing. Ties can be used to connect notes
of any value. It is possible to tie two quarter notes together, two sixteenth notes together, or even
to tie a half note to a sixteenth. Dots, on the other hand, extend a note by a particular duration
that cannot be altered. Rests can be dotted, but they cannot be tied. Don’t ask why. It’s just the
way things are!

It is also possible to tie more than two notes together. When this is the case, all the symbols
following the first note of the tie continue to extend its duration. For example, a quarter tied to a
quarter tied to an eighth has the value of two and one-half counts. Tie three quarter notes
together, and you have the value of three full counts. Always keep in mind that a grouping of tied
notes will only have one attack point, and therefore, only one stroke.

Remember when you practice this exercise, try to keep everything sounding relaxed and smooth.
It’s not just enough to play the proper notes at the proper time. You always want the music you
are reading to sound just as pure and natural as when you are improvising. I’m sure that you
have heard a beginning reader trying to connect words into sentences. Each word is followed by
a short pause and everything is stilted, dry, and without feeling. The natural rise and fall of the
voice during speech is replaced by a voice that could be coming from a computer. Yet, when this
same person speaks “off the top of his head”, everything sounds just fine. When you’re reading
music, listen to yourself and be certain that you are playing with relaxation and expression.

CLICK HERE to download a printable PDF of this exercise!

(http://vicfirth.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/webrhythms-
05exercise.pdf)
 00:25
00:00 // 03:07
3:17

WebRhythms Lesson 5 - Bronze

WebRhythms Lesson 5 - Silver

WebRhythms Lesson 5 - Gold

WebRhythms Lesson 5 - Platinum

WebRhythms Lesson 5 - Diamond

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