LESSON THREE - DURATION
How long?
What will you learn in Lesson 3?
In this lesson you will learn:
- How to calculate the length of a note by asking 3 questions about its ap-
pearance - What impact dots and ties have on a note’s length
What is duration?
Duration (noun) = the length of time something continues or exists
We now know how to tell what pitch a note should be played at. However,
we do not know how long to hold the note for. The length a note is held for
is called its duration. In this chapter we will learn how to work out the
length of a note simply by looking at its appearance.
Important Note: Note length can be described in 2 ways - as divisions of
notes (contemporary method) or as names (traditional method). You
will come across both and so I have used the contemporary method fol-
lowed by the traditional in brackets e.g. quarter notes (crotchets).