Lesson 13: Dotted Rhythms
- Play the dotted-quarter / eighth pair without rushing or dragging.
- Play a march and a hymn-tune that depend on the dotted shape.
- Lesson 12 — eighth notes.
- Dotted half, dotted quarter, dotted eighth.
- Dotted-figure feel.
A dot adds half. That is the whole rule.
A dot next to a note adds half of that note's value. A dotted half is three quarters; a dotted quarter is a quarter plus an eighth. In nearly every march, hymn, and jig you will encounter, the dotted-quarter followed by an eighth is the basic rhythmic gesture.
The classical mistake: rushing the short note. The eighth wants to fall just before the next beat, but beginners tend to play it too soon, turning long-short-LONG into a near-equal triplet.
Count aloud: ONE-and-two-AND, ONE-and-two-AND. The eighth lands on the “and” just before beat two.
First bar in even quarters and eighths; second bar reshaped with dotted figures. Identical pitches, totally different character.
Play: a hymn-style melody
The dotted-quarter / eighth is the rhythmic spine of most English hymn tunes. The breath has time to land on the long note before the eighth pickup carries you into the next bar.
Now play these
- When the Saints Go Marching In
- A march. The dotted figures should swing forward, not drag.
- Yankee Doodle
- A march with a dotted-quarter / eighth backbone.
- Amazing Grace
- Hymn in 3/4 with dotted-half / quarter pacing — the slow cousin of today's figure.
When dotted rhythms come out crisply and the eighth never lands too early, move on to Lesson 14.