Dotted Notes - a Liberal Explaination

I am going to try my best to help out here...

I know you have read what the text says, however think of it like this... The dot by a note increases that notes value by just a half extra. So a half note with a dot makes it a 3/4 note. Or to show it - 1/2 (length of a half note) + 1/4 (half of the half note) = 3/4 note.

And as the text shows a regular quarter (1/4) note = 2 eighth notes - and a dotted quarter = 3 eighth notes. This is the same principle - half of the quarter note is an eighth note. So a quarter note with a dot = 1/4 plus an eighth and they wrote it as 3 eighth notes because that is the duration you hold a dotted quarter (1/4) note. A dotted quarter has the same duration as three eighth notes.

Simply stated just add one half of the notes original duration and you have the length of a dotted note.

I used those two examples because when reading music, the 1/2 and the 1/4 notes are the most commonly dotted.

On the interactive chapter (ELEMENTS OF MUSIC: MUSIC NOTATION - Page 4), you can click play on the song and that will help a lot. Just remember to look at that first note when the music starts on the "mine" (it is a 16th note ) - then you can easily follow the beat. Those types of notes are usually used with big band style of music and a lot of Sinatra / Dean Martin work for instance.

Also, I am not sure why the interactive chapter played an extra note at the end of that march song - at the very end the music flips up a bit. If you are new to reading music, do not let that ending confuse you. There is only one note at the very end, not two notes and it is a 3/4 "C" note. It is a 3/4 note because it is a dotted 1/2 note. (1/2 note + 1/4 (half of the half note) = 3/4 note.)

When you learn music, you learn the beat of the dotted note as a music reader - in other words, you learn the dotted notes as a 3/4 note, instead of doing the math at a concert ;)

I hope that has helped and not confused anyone more :)

Laura~