Dotted Notes


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Sometimes you will see a dot after a note (don’t confuse this with a dot above or below the note – that is something totally different and we’ll look at that in a different post).
A dot placed after a note makes the note 50% longer than it is. It’s really that simple – all you need to do when learning how to read music is use a little bit of maths. Let’s look at a few examples.

 

Examples

If a dot is put after a quarter note (crotchet) which is normally worth 1 beat, the note will now be worth 50% longer.  i.e. 1 and a half beats (1 plus a half).

Dotted crotchet

If a dot is put after a half note (minim) normally worth 2 beats then it will now be worth 3 beats (2 plus 1).

 

Sheet Music Dotted Minim

If a dot is put after an eighth note (quaver) normally worth half a beat, then it will now be worth three quarters of a beat (half plus a quarter).

 

Sheet Music Dotted QuaverTry testing yourself on one of the worksheets – good luck!


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