Time signatures tell you how to count music. Dotted and tied notes change how long individual notes last. Mastering these three concepts will unlock your ability to read and play almost any piece of written music.
At the beginning of all music there are two numbers — the time signature. This tells you how many beats should be counted for each bar. (A bar is the space between two bar lines.)
The top number tells you how many beats are in each bar. The bottom number tells you what kind of note gets one beat (4 means a quarter note gets one beat). The two most common time signatures in guitar music are 3/4 and 4/4.
4/4 time means four beats per bar. This is the most common time signature in popular music — almost all rock, pop, and folk songs use it. Sometimes 4/4 is written as a large C (for "Common Time") instead of the two numbers. Count it as: 1 2 3 4 | 1 2 3 4
Play a little more strongly on beat 1 of each bar to set your sense of the pulse. The tunes you have played so far in this course have all been in 4/4 time.
3/4 time means three beats per bar. This is sometimes called "Waltz time" because the waltz dance is in 3/4. Count it as: 1 2 3 | 1 2 3
The first beat of each bar should be a little stronger than beats 2 and 3. Try playing chords while you count 3 beats to the bar — you will hear the characteristic lilt of waltz time.
A small dot placed after a note means the note should last half as long again as its normal value:
Dotted notes are very common in music written in 3/4 time — a dotted half note filling a full 3-beat bar is extremely frequent in waltzes and folk songs.
Notes are sometimes made longer by joining them to the next note with a curved line called a Tie. The first note lasts for the total number of beats of both notes tied together.
A tie is different from a slur. A tie always joins two notes of the same pitch — you play the first note and hold it for the combined length without plucking again. This is especially useful for creating notes that last across bar lines, which cannot be shown with a single note value.
Always count out loud when learning a new piece with dotted or tied notes. Speak the counts clearly: "1 2 3 4" for 4/4, "1 2 3" for 3/4. When you encounter a dotted note, keep counting steadily through its extra half-beat. Counting out loud forces your brain to process the rhythm actively rather than guessing.
Everything guitarists ask about this topic
4/4 time means there are four beats in each bar, and a quarter note receives one beat. This is the most common time signature in Western music and appears in the vast majority of pop, rock, folk, and country songs. It is sometimes called common time and written as a large letter C instead of the numbers 4/4.
3/4 time means there are three beats in each bar. It is sometimes called waltz time because it gives music the characteristic lilt of a waltz. Count it as 1-2-3, 1-2-3. The first beat of each bar is slightly emphasised. Many folk songs, hymns, and classical pieces are written in 3/4 time.
A dot placed after a note increases its duration by half its original value. A dotted half note (normally 2 beats) lasts 3 beats. A dotted quarter note (normally 1 beat) lasts 1.5 beats. Dotted notes are common in 3/4 time and in syncopated rhythms.
A tie connects two notes of the same pitch and means you hold the first note for the combined duration without replucking. A slur connects two notes of different pitches and means play them smoothly connected. In guitar playing, slurs often indicate hammer-ons or pull-offs. On sheet music, both look like curved lines, but a tie always connects same-pitch notes.
For a dotted quarter note in 4/4 time, count it as "1 and" — the note lasts one full beat plus the half beat. For a dotted half note in 3/4 time, it fills the entire bar: "1-2-3". The best approach is to count slowly out loud and tap your foot, making sure the beat stays steady regardless of the note values.