Dotted note
A dot to the right of a notehead adds half the note’s value. A dotted quarter note lasts one and a half beats; a dotted half note lasts three.
The dot is a short way of writing a longer note. A quarter note lasts one beat and an eighth note half a beat; the same length, one and a half beats, could be written as two notes joined by a tie, but a dotted quarter is simpler.
A dotted quarter is usually followed by an eighth note: together they fill exactly two beats. Count one, and, two, and — the dotted note sounds through “one, and, two” and the eighth comes on the “and” after two. In syllables this is ta-a-ti.
A dotted half note lasts three beats and fills a whole measure of 3/4. In 6/8 time a dotted quarter equals three eighth notes: one big beat of the measure.
What it sounds like
A dotted note followed by an eighth sounds “long–short”: ta-a-ti. This lilting rhythm is heard in countless songs.
Where it is taught: the studio’s interactive textbook, chapter 12, “Eighth notes and the dotted quarter” and chapter 14, “6/8 and the waltz pulse”.