What is a tie in music? How to read and hold tied notes

Sometimes a composer wants a note to last longer than any single note value allows, or to ring on across a bar line into the next bar. A bar line is a hard boundary: every bar must contain exactly the right number of beats. So how do you write a note that starts near the end of one bar and keeps sounding into the next? You use a tie.

What a tie looks like and what it means

A tie is a small curved line joining two notes of the same pitch, usually written right next to each other. It tells you to:

play the first note,
hold it for the length of the first note plus the length of the second,
and not play the second note again.

The two notes become one sound. If a half note is tied to another half note, you press the key once and hold it for 2 + 2 = 4 beats.

The tied G is pressed once on beat 3 and held right through to the end of beat 2 of the next bar: four beats in all

Look at the counting under the notes. You press G on beat 3 of the first bar, keep it down through beat 4, through the bar line, and through beats 1 and 2 of the second bar. Only on beat 3 do you move on to F. Your finger stays still; your counting keeps going.

Why not just write one long note?

In the example above, a whole note would also last four beats. But a whole note starting on beat 3 would spill over the bar line, which is not allowed. The tie solves this: the first part of the note fills what is left of the first bar, and the second part fills the beginning of the next. The bar lines stay in their proper places, and you can still see where every beat falls.

Ties also let composers write lengths that no single note value can show. A whole note tied to a quarter note, for example, lasts five beats, and there is no one note shape for that.

Tie or slur?

You have already met another curved line: the slur, which means play smoothly (legato). The two look alike, so check what the curve connects.

A tie joins two notes of the same pitch. Play once, hold for both.
A slur joins notes of different pitches. Play every note, smoothly.

First bar: a tie joins two Gs, so you play one long G. Second bar: a slur joins three different notes, so you play all three smoothly

If the notes under the curve are on the same line or space, it is a tie. If they move, it is a slur.

Ties in three time

Ties work the same way in 3/4. A dotted half note fills a whole bar of three; tie it to a quarter note in the next bar and the sound lasts four beats.

In 3/4, the first G lasts three beats plus one: four in total. Later, a quarter-note D is tied to a dotted half: also four beats

This is a good exercise in honest counting. Say "1 2 3, 1" while you hold the first G, then play A on beat 2. In the third bar, D arrives on beat 3 and must be held right through the whole of the next bar.

How to practise ties

Ties are easy to understand and surprisingly easy to get wrong, because the hand wants to move on before the count is finished. These steps build the habit of counting through.

Spot them first. Before playing, find every tie in the piece and trace it with your finger. Check both notes are the same pitch.
Add up the beats. For each tie, say the total out loud: "two plus two is four".
Count aloud while playing. Keep counting "1 2 3 4" through the held note, especially as you cross the bar line. Do not let the count stop just because your fingers have.
Practise one tied pair on its own. For example, play E, F, then G tied across the bar, then F and E, as in the first example. Repeat until the G feels like one long, unbroken sound.
Use a steady beat. A metronome or a backing track makes it obvious if you cut a tied note short.
Listen for a second attack. If you hear the note start again, you replayed it. It should simply ring on.

Common mistakes

Cutting the note short. Many players lift on the bar line, as if the bar line were a stop sign. The tie carries the sound across it.
Confusing a tie with a slur. Always check whether the pitches are the same.
Losing the beat after a long note. After holding for four beats it is easy to come in late or early. Counting aloud prevents this.
Moving the hand during the tie. If the next note is close by, there is no need to shift. Get ready with the other fingers while the tied finger holds.

Try it in Pianuvo

The Academy lesson on ties uses a short piece called Tied Together, with four notes held across bar lines, and its exercises listen as you play and check how long you hold each tie. You can use the on-screen keys, a MIDI keyboard or a real piano through your microphone. Start with Unit 6: Ties, dotted rhythms, upbeats and phrasing, and if note lengths still feel shaky, the guide to note lengths and rhythm is a good refresher.