Dotted notes in music.

Some things in music that should be easy just aren’t. If you’re having trouble wrapping your brain about some of the concepts that you think should be easy, don’t beat yourself up. Learning to read music isn’t any different than learning a new language. The world accepts the fact that learning Spanish, French, or Latin are difficult tasks but sometimes music doesn’t get the same credit. You’ve come this far and while there may be a little bit of distance yet to travel, be patient.

Today we’re going to help you with one of those concepts that many people have a tough time understanding: The dot! That little dot can cause so much trouble but once we’re done with it, you’re going to have very little trouble reading right through it.

The textbook definition of the dot is that when a dot is added to a note, it adds half of the notes value. We know:that really doesn’t help! To help us, we have to do a little math.

Remember that in meters like 4/4, A whole note gets 4 beats, a half note gets 2 beats, a quarter note gets 1 beat, and an eighth note gets ½ of a beat.

Now, let’s say that you are looking at a dotted half note. Let’s figure out how many total beats this note has. Without the dot, we know that the half note has 2 beats by itself. Remember that the dot adds half the value of the original note. Our half note has two beats so the dot will add half of that which is one beat. When we add the 2 beats of the original note with the 1 beat that the dot added, we have 3 total beats.

Clear as mud? Let’s look at a few:

How many beats are there in a dotted whole note? The whole note is 4 beats, the dot adds half of the 4 which is 2. 4+2=6 beats
How about a dotted quarter note? A quarter note has one beat, the dot adds half of the one beat which is ½ so a dotted quarter note has 1 ½ beats. Make sense?

Who came up with this confusing dot thing, anyway? The truth is that once you get the hang of the dot, it’s a lot easier to read than the alternatives that music publishers would have to use. When we write music we try our best to use the least amount of symbols as possible. If we can write something with a note and dot, that’s easier to read than writing multiple notes tied together.

If that doesn’t make you feel better about these dots, then just trust us. Once you get the hang of these dots, you’ll see how easy to read they are. Spend some time figuring out how to count dotted rhythms. You’ll be a pro in no time!