Rhythm & Meter
Note Values, Rests, Ties and Dots Explained
Each note value is half the one above it. Whole to sixteenth notes and their rests, plus how dots, ties and beams change what you count.
Tie
A curved line joining two notes of the same pitch, so that they sound as one note lasting the combined value.
Also called: tie sign, tied note
A tie is a curved line that joins two adjacent notes of the same pitch. The second note is not struck; the two values are added and sounded as one continuous note. A half note tied to a quarter note, for example, sounds for three beats. Ties carry a note across a bar line, across a beat that the meter does not allow as one value, or to write a duration that no single note can express. A tie is written close to the note heads. It differs from a slur, which joins notes of different pitches and marks phrasing or bowing.
Related terms
- SlurA curved line over or under notes of different pitches, asking for them to be played smoothly and as one phrase.
- Dot (augmentation dot)A small mark after a note or rest that extends its value by half, so a dotted quarter lasts as long as three eighth notes.
- Bar lineA vertical line through the staff that divides music into measures, with heavier forms marking sections and the end.
- MeasureThe span of notes between two bar lines, containing the number of beats set by the time signature.