7

I'm a complete noob when it comes to sheet music and I have a (probably) very stupid question regarding this:enter image description here

The way I see it, the notes and pause don't add upp to 4 beats? First a dotted quarter, 3/8ths of the bar, then an eighth pause, 4/8ths, then an eighth note, 5/8ths, followed by half notes, 9/8ths?

200_success
  • 1,633
  • 13
  • 19
emileber
  • 79
  • 2
  • 2
    Possible duplicate of [Two adjacent notes of same pitch seemingly occupying the same beat?](https://music.stackexchange.com/questions/61200/two-adjacent-notes-of-same-pitch-seemingly-occupying-the-same-beat) – guidot Dec 06 '17 at 15:31
  • 6
    @guidot Not really. – Kyle Strand Dec 06 '17 at 23:03
  • It is not a stupid question but there are plenty of sources from you can get an answer quicker, e.g. searching "dotted quarter note" – Alexis Jan 26 '18 at 00:05

1 Answers1

31

The dot above the quarter note is a staccato articulation which doesn't affect its rhythmic value. It's still a quarter note. If the dot was to the right of the note it would change its rhythmic value.

The sample has two voices. The top voice (sticks upwards) has a half note rest followed by a half note.

The lower voice (sticks downwards) has a staccato quarter note followed by an eighth note rest then an eighth note tied into the following half note. The eighth note rest is vertically misaligned - it should be further up the staff.

Dave
  • 17,721
  • 8
  • 59
  • 96
Brian THOMAS
  • 10,171
  • 1
  • 31
  • 65
  • 3
    I think the eighth rest is further down the staff to indicate that it corresponds to the lower voice. But it's so far down, and the lower voice in such a high register, that it's more confusing than helpful in this particular situation. – Kevin Dec 07 '17 at 00:14
  • 1
    I'd agree with @Kevin that the eighth rest should have been placed somewhere around the 2nd or third staff line. – Carl Witthoft Dec 07 '17 at 14:43