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4.1 What is a Tie?
4.1 What is a Tie?
When two notes that are the same pitch are connected by a curved line, it is called a tie. A tie connects two notes of the same pitch and adds the rhythms together.
If you look at the example below, you will see a curved line that connects two notes of the same pitch in the first measure. That is called a tie. In the second measure, the notes that are connected are not the same pitch. That is called a slur.
Ties can occur between two notes of the same pitch in the same measure, or they can connect two notes of the same pitch across bar lines. Notice in the first measure below, the tie occurs between beats 2 and 3, but the other tie connects beat 4 of measure 2 and beat 1 of measure 3 and stretches across the bar line.
4.2 Ties in the same measure
4.2 Ties in the same measure
The first kind of tie we will learn how to count is the tie that occurs between two notes of the same pitch in the same measure.
Notice that we begin this example immediately with a tie. The first note and the second note are the same pitch and the two are connected by a curved line. Remember, we always begin a measure with the count 1.
Since a tie connects two rhythmic values and we do not articulate the second note, we must indicate that in our counting. We will do that with the dash sign followed by the count that it connects.
Since it connects to a quarter note, that quarter note fills up the entire pie for count two. The measure is complete and it is time to move onto measure 2 of the exercise. Go ahead and write the counts in for measure two.
Measure 3 contains a tie again. Begin the measure with the count 1 as we always do.
The tie connects beats 1 and 2, so put the dash in after the number one to indicate that we will not articulate the second quarter note and then write the counts for beat 2.
Now complete the final measure.
Count and clap the example above.
Ties in the same measure
4.3 Ties across the bar line
4.3 Ties across the bar line
Now we will examine how to count ties that occur over a bar line.
We begin the exercise with a whole note, which is review for us.
The second measure ends with a tie tie that goes into the third measure. Let's start by writing in the counts for the second measure only.
It is now time to tackle the tie. Remember, when we have to show that a rhythm extends through another count, and we do not articulate that next rhythm, we need to use a dash, followed by the count it is tied to.
Now complete the counts for the third measure. Since it is a whole note, we have to continue writing dashes and counts.
We encounter another tie over a bar in measures 3 and 4. Write the counts for measure 3.
Indicate that the rhythm extends over the bar line with a dash, and then the counts of the next measure.
Count and clap the rhythm.
Ties over a bar line
4.4 Ties with eighth notes
4.4 Ties with eighth notes
Ties do not always connect rhythms that are complete beats. Any rhythm can be tied, including eighth notes, triplets, sixteenth notes, and so on.
In the following example, which is in 3/4 time, there is a tie between two eighth notes in the first measure. Let's begin counting.
We always start a measure with the number 1, so write the number 1 under the first rhythm of the measure.
Next, we analyze that count. Beat 1 begins with an eighth note, so we still have to write the + part of the beat. Write the + under the second eighth note of count 1.
As you can see, that second 8th note is tied to the next beat, and when we have ties, we connect the two rhythms with a dash.
Now that beat one is complete, we must begin beat two. The beginning of beat two starts with an eighth note, so write down the number 2.
Remember, that eighth note only takes up the first half of beat 2. We still need to complete the second half, which is another eighth note. Write the + symbol under the eighth note.
Complete the measure.
The rest of the exercise is all review. Write in the counts for the remainder of the exercise.
Count and clap the final exercise.
Ties with eighth notes
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