How to count a dotted quarter note and eighth note

Some rhythms you can feel in your body before you can read them. Sing the opening of London Bridge Is Falling Down and listen to the first two notes, "Lon-don": the first is long, the second short, and then the tune carries on in even steps. That long-short pair is a dotted quarter note followed by an eighth note, one of the most common rhythms in all music. This lesson shows you how to read it and, more importantly, how to count it.

What the dot does

You already know the dotted half note: a half note (two beats) with a dot, lasting three beats. The rule behind it is simple and works for every note:

A dot adds half the note's own value.

• Half note = 2 beats. Half of 2 is 1. Dotted half note = 2 + 1 = 3 beats.
• Quarter note = 1 beat. Half of 1 is a half. Dotted quarter note = 1 + ½ = 1½ beats.

So a dotted quarter note lasts one and a half beats. On its own, that leaves a gap of half a beat before the next beat. That half beat is very often filled by a single eighth note, which is why the two almost always travel together.

Counting "1 and 2 and"

Because the dotted quarter ends halfway through a beat, you need to count in half beats to place it accurately. You learned this when you met eighth notes: say "1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and", with the numbers on the beats and "and" exactly halfway between.

Now place the dotted quarter on "1". Hold it through "and", through "2", and release it just as you say the "and" after 2. The eighth note lands on that "and". Beat 3 then arrives as normal.

It can help to say the rhythm with words: "long-er short, one, two". Or simply say the counting and tap on the bold parts: "1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and".

A dotted quarter is a tied quarter and eighth

If the dot ever confuses you, there is another way to see it. A quarter note tied to an eighth note lasts one and a half beats too, so it sounds exactly the same as a dotted quarter. The dot is just a tidier way of writing it.

When you practise, you can even count the tied version first: play the quarter on 1, keep holding through the tied eighth on 2, and play the next eighth on "and".

Where you hear it

The pattern turns up everywhere. In the version of Ode to Joy most people know, the end of the fourth bar has it: the tune holds a long E, then a quick D, then a longer D.

London Bridge opens with the same long-short shape before settling into steady quarter notes.

Both tunes are on the site if you want to play them through: Ode to Joy and London Bridge Is Falling Down.

How to practise the long-short rhythm

Learn the rhythm first on one key, then add the notes. Trying both at once is the slowest way to get there.

1. Count aloud without playing. Say "1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and" steadily, at a slow speed, several times.
2. Tap on a table. Keep counting and tap only on 1, the "and" after 2, then 3 and 4. Your tapping hand stays still during "and 2".
3. Move to one key. Play the same rhythm on G. Hold the key down for the whole dotted quarter; do not let it bounce up early.
4. Echo game. Ask someone to tap a short rhythm with a long-short pair in it, or invent one yourself, and play it back on one key.
5. Add the pitches. Try this little tune: C dotted quarter, D eighth, E, F; G dotted quarter, F eighth, E half; D dotted quarter, E eighth, D, C; and a whole-note C to finish.
6. Then a real tune. Play bars 3 and 4 of Ode to Joy, then the whole of London Bridge, still counting.

Common mistakes

• Making it even. The most common slip is to play the two notes as equal quarters or equal eighths. The first should be three times as long as the second.
• Jerky, jumpy short notes. The eighth note is short but not snatched. It leads smoothly into the next beat.
• Rushing the next beat. After the quick eighth, players often hurry beat 3. Keep the pulse steady.
• Stopping the count. Holding a note does not mean the beat stops. Keep "2" alive even though your finger is not moving.

Try it in Pianuvo

In the Academy lesson you tap the long-short rhythm on one key, copy rhythms by ear, then play Ode to Joy and London Bridge. Each step listens as you play and tells you whether the eighth landed on the "and", whether you use on-screen keys, a MIDI keyboard, or a real piano with the microphone. You will find it in Unit 6: Ties, dotted rhythms, upbeats and phrasing.