A dot after a note head adds half of that note's value again. A dotted half note lasts three beats; a dotted quarter lasts one and a half.
The rule is always the same, whatever the note: original value plus half of it. It is not "a bit longer", it is exactly one and a half times, and playing it as anything else is the most common rhythm error in beginner piano.
How to spot it
A small dot immediately to the right of the note head, level with it. Do not confuse it with a staccato dot, which sits above or below the note.
Find it in thirty seconds
Find a dotted quarter note. Count "one-and-two" and hold it across all three syllables, then play the note that follows exactly on "and".
Open any piece of sheet music on this site and do it now. Reading is a recognition skill, and recognition is built by finding things, not by reading about them.
Related Topics...
How to Read Sheet Music: Learn how to read sheet music using interactive lessons from Chordzy. Or browse our various reading music topics.
Music Notation Glossary: Every symbol on a page of piano music, explained in one sentence each, clefs, note values, rests, accidentals, dynamics and repeat marks.
Half Note: A half note on the piano staff: how to spot the hollow head, and a thirty-second hunt for one on a real page.
Quarter Note: A quarter note on the piano staff: how to spot the filled head, and a thirty-second hunt for one on a real page.
Staccato: Staccato in piano music. A staccato dot above or below a note head means play it short and detached, roughly half its written length, with silence filling the…
Tie: Tie in piano music. A tie is a curved line joining two notes of the same pitch. You play the first one and hold it through the second, rather than playing it a…
More in This Section
Double Flat: Double Flat in piano music. A double flat (♭♭) lowers a note by two semitones, two keys to the left.
Double Sharp: Double Sharp in piano music. A double sharp (𝄪, written like an x) raises a note by two semitones, two keys to the right.
