READING MUSIC / LESSON 10
Ties: Meaning and Use
In lesson 10 of our music-reading series, we will learn about the tie.
A tie connects two notes of the same pitch. Instead of playing the second note again, sustain the sound for the combined duration of both notes.
The notation and musical example below illustrate how this works.
The curved line connecting notes of the same pitch is called a tie. When performing the example, the second note is not rearticulated.
The original lesson included a performance video, which is not currently available. You can follow the notation below instead.
The next example breaks the passage down into beats, making the total duration easier to see.
Finally, add together the values of the two tied notes to see how long the sound lasts.
Ties are useful for sustaining a note across barlines and for showing rhythmic grouping clearly. You will encounter them frequently in written music, so be sure to practice reading them.