Beyond the notation of basic notes and rests, a number of other conventions are necessary to indicate the combining of notes and rests into actual rhythms.

Dotted Notes and Dotted Rhythms A dot placed after a note or rest lengthens its duration by 50 percent. Thus a dotted half note lasts as long as a half note plus a quarter note: And a dotted quarter-note rest equals a quarter plus an eighth: Even simple tunes, such as “Yankee Doodle,” make use of the dot convention.

A dotted rhythm is one consisting of dotted (long) notes alternating with short ones:

Ties Two notes of the same pitch can be connected by means of a curved line called a tie. This means they are played continuously, as though they were one note of the combined duration. Any number of notes of the same pitch can be tied together.

Beware: The same sort of curved line is also used to connect notes that are not of the same pitch. In this case it means that they are to be played smoothly, one following the next without the slightest break (legato or “bound” playing). These curved lines are called slurs.

To indicate that notes are to be played in an especially detached fashion (staccato), dots are placed above or below them.

Triplets Three notes bracketed together and marked with

a 3 are called a triplet. The three notes take exactly the same time that would normally be taken by two. A quarter-note triplet has the same duration as two ordinary

quarter notes:

The convention is occasionally extended to groups of five notes, seven notes, etc. For an example, see page 244.

Meter: Measures and Bar Lines A measure (or bar) is the basic time unit chosen for a piece of music, corresponding to the meter of the piece (see page 5). Measures are marked in musical notation by vertical bar lines. Each measure covers the same time span.

In the following example, the time span covered by each measure is one whole note, equivalent to two half notes (measure 1), or four quarter notes (measure 2), or eight eighth notes (measures 3, 4).

Time Signatures In the example above, the meter is indicated by means of a time signature. Time signatures are printed on the staffs at the beginning of pieces of music (they are not repeated on later staffs).

In spite of appearances, time signatures are not fractions. The top digit shows how many beats are in each measure, and the bottom digit shows what kind of note represents a beat. If the bottom digit is 2, the beat is represented by a half note; if 4, by a quarter note, and so on.

In our example, the 2 at the top indicates there are two beats in each measure (duple meter), and the 2 at the bottom indicates that the beats are half-note beats. This time signature can also be indicated by the sign .