## Tie

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 again.

Ties exist because a note sometimes needs to last across a bar line, where no single symbol can express it. Two tied quarter notes across a bar line are one note lasting two beats.


## How To Spot Tie

A curve joining two note heads at the same height. If the two heads are at *different* heights, it is a slur and means something else.


## Find It In Thirty Seconds

Find a tie crossing a bar line, play the first note, and count through both without re-striking. Then play it wrongly on purpose and hear the difference.

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.