The Dotted Quarter Note
A dot written after a quarter note means that you hold the note for one and a half beats.
A dotted quarter note is often followed by an eighth note.
Try the following exercise which uses the dotted quarter note. Special attention should be given to the count below the music.
The dotted quarter note is featured in the following piece by Karl Beyer.
A Note (1st String)
The note on the fifth fret of the first string is an A note. Use the fourth finger of your left hand to fret this note.
This A note is written on the first ledger line above the staff.
The A note on the first string is introduced in the following pieces. In the first piece, the D# note on the 2nd string must not ring at the same time as the open 1st string (E). After playing the D# lift the left hand finger of the string at the same time as the E note is played.
The Six Eight Time Signature
This is the six eight time signature.
There are six eighth notes in one bar of ) time.
The six eighth notes are divided into two groups of three.
When playing ) time there are two beats within each bar with each beat being a dotted quarter note. (This is different to * and ^ time where each beat is a quarter note). Accent (play louder) the 1 and 4 count to help establish the two beats per bar.
Try the following exercise which is in )time. Special attention should be given to the count below the music.
The Eighth Note Triplet
Eighth note triplets are a group of three evenly spaced notes played within one beat. Eighth note triplets are indicated by three eighth notes grouped together by a bracket (or a curved line) and the number 3 written either above or below the group. The eighth note triplets are played with a third of a beat each. Accent (play louder) the first note of each triplet group as it will help you keep time.
The triplet is introduced in the following example.
The next piece is in % time, only two quarter notes to each bar. The triplet is used for the second half of the piece.
