Dotted Notes

Dotted notes are 1.5 times longer than the normal note. The semibreve (whole note) below, normally goes for 4 beats. With a dot, it goes for 6 notes.

The minim (half note) below normally goes for two beats. With a dot it goes for 3 beats. Practice these exercises from 80 to 200 BPM.

Examples are at 100 BPM.

The crotchet (quarter note) below normally goes for 1 beat. With a dot it goes for 1 and a half beats.

The quaver (eighth note) normally goes for half a beat. With a dot it goes for three quarters of a beat. To count dotted eighths it helps to count all the sixteenth notes, ie: "1 e & a". The first note (the dotted note) hits on the one and the second note (the 16th note) hits on the "a".

Examples are at 60 BPM.

Tied notes

When two notes are tied together in drums, we don't play the second note. In all four of these examples the first bar sounds (and is played) the same as the second bar.

Examples are at 100 BPM.