Home - Time Focus - Time Lines Contents
In Unit 5 we learned about eighth notes in groups of two at a time. In this lesson, we will play single eighth notes. When eighth notes occur by themselves, they do not have beams, but they have a flag that is connected to the stem of the note, as shown below.
Just as the eighth note is equal to half the length of a quarter note, the eighth rest is equal to half the length of a quarter rest. Although there are no examples of eighth rests in Book 1 of Time Lines, Book 2 will feature the eighth rest extensively.
In Unit 4 we learned that placing a dot at the right side of a notehead indicates that half of the note value is added to its length. Using that information, we can determine that a dotted quarter note is equal to a quarter note tied to an eighth note.
In 2/4, 3/4, and 4/4, the dotted quarter note is equal to one and a half beats. The dotted quarter note is usually followed by a single eighth note or eighth rest. Note that exercises E601 - E603 look different, but they sound exactly the same. They show how the dotted quarter note is subdivided.
Unit 6 Practice Tools:
Exercises: Play exercises with dotted quarter notes in 2/4, 3/4, and 4/4.
Patterns: Dotted quarter note rhythm patterns in 3/4 and 4/4.
Melodies: Dotted quarter note melodic phrases in 3/4 and 4/4.
When clapping and counting rhythms that include dotted quarter notes, always subdivide the beat and count every “and” between each beat, as shown below.
For music in 4/4, notes beginning on beat two that are one and a half beats long are usually represented by a quarter note tied to an eighth note instead of a dotted quarter note, as shown in E614 - E616 as well as some of the rhythm patterns and melodies.