Calculating dotted durations

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Durations and signs

An augmentation dot adds half the original duration to a note or rest. A dotted quarter therefore equals a quarter plus an eighth. A second dot adds half of the first dot’s contribution, rather than repeating the original addition.

Use a common smaller unit to count comfortably: a dotted quarter equals three eighths. Also distinguish placement. A dot beside a note extends its value; a staccato dot above or below concerns articulation. They have very different jobs.

Example

A double-dotted half equals a half plus quarter plus eighth: seven eighths.

Try it

How many sixteenths equal a dotted eighth?

Related topics

References

Music Theory for the 21st-Century Classroom

Subject-expert review pending.