Dotted quarter note: how to count it

The dotted quarter note is a quarter note followed by a small dot, and it lasts one and a half beats. It is one of the most common rhythms in all music, because it pairs with a short eighth note to fill exactly two beats. Many well-known folk tunes, marches and hymns are built on this long-short pattern.

What does a dotted quarter note look like?

It is a quarter note, which has a filled notehead and a stem, with a small dot placed just to the right of the notehead. When the notehead is on a line, the dot is placed in the space above that line. There is no flag, because the note is longer than an eighth note.

How many beats does a dotted quarter note get?

A dot adds half the value of its note. A quarter note gets 1 beat, so the dot adds half a beat, and the dotted quarter gets 1 and a half beats. In 4/4, 3/4 and 2/4, where the quarter note gets the beat, that is the answer. Another way to see it: a dotted quarter equals three eighth notes, or a quarter note tied to an eighth note.

In 6/8, the dotted quarter note is the beat. Each measure holds two of them, and each lasts three eighth notes. That makes the dotted quarter the most important note in compound time, as described on the 6/8 time signature page. In 2/2 time the dotted quarter gets three quarters of a beat.

How to count a dotted quarter note

In 4/4, count in eighth notes: "1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &". A dotted quarter note that starts on 1 lasts through "1 &" and "2", and ends on the "&" after 2. So you play the note on 1, and the next note falls on that "&" after 2. That is why the pattern is often written as "1 (2) &" with the number in parentheses showing that you are holding the note.

1. Count "1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &" at a steady speed.
2. Play the dotted quarter note on a number, such as 1.
3. Hold through the "&" and the next number, then play the following eighth note on the next "&".
4. The next dotted quarter note starts on the next number, such as 3.

Why does the dotted quarter pair with an eighth note?

A dotted quarter is 3 eighth notes long, and the eighth note after it adds 1 more, so together they make 4 eighth notes, or 2 beats. This balanced pairing is neat and easy to feel. A dotted quarter followed by an eighth is a rhythm that most people can clap correctly after hearing it a couple of times.

Dotted quarter note in 6/8

In 6/8, the time signature groups six eighth notes into two beats of three. The dotted quarter note is exactly one such group, so it gets one beat. Many 6/8 songs, such as lullabies and Irish jigs, use dotted quarter notes for their pulse. Count them "1 2" with the beat, or count the six eighths "1 2 3 4 5 6" and play on 1 and 4.

Dotted quarter note and the dotted quarter rest

A dot can also follow a rest. A quarter rest with a dot lasts one and a half beats, the same as the dotted quarter note. It is common in the same patterns, where silence takes the place of the long note.

Dotted quarter note, other names

In British English, the dotted quarter note is a dotted crotchet. The rule for the dot is the same in both names: it adds half the value of the note.

Common mistakes

• Counting it as 2 beats. A dotted quarter note is only 1 and a half beats.
• Playing the following eighth note too early. It lands exactly on the "&" after the held beat.
• Confusing it with a dotted half note. The dotted half has a hollow notehead and lasts 3 beats.

Compare this with the dotted half note, or return to the note values overview to see how all the lengths fit together.

Check yourself

Related pages

• Note values: how long each note lasts
• Quarter note: symbol, beats and counting
• Eighth note: symbol, beams and how to count it
• Dotted half note: how many beats it gets
• Quarter rest: symbol and how many beats it gets
• 6/8 time signature
• 4/4 time signature