If all note values were one beat, music would be pretty dull. Notes can be shorter or longer than one beat. We will now look at durations that are longer than one beat.
One way to create longer notes is to use ties. A tie is a line that connects two or more notes that are the same pitch. The tie indicates that we hold the notes together and we do not re-articulate or restart the second note of the tie.
Listen to the following example to hear how ties create longer notes in music.
There are simpler ways to represent most tied notes, though. Here is a list of note values and how long they are in relation to quarter notes.
The half note is equal to the length of two quarter notes tied together.
The dotted half note is equal to the length of three quarter notes tied together.
The whole note is equal to the length of four quarter notes tied together.
Here is a version of the melody example above, but with half notes, dotted half notes, and whole notes instead of ties. These two melodies sound exactly the same.
