Understanding Tied Notes

Tied notes add the value of two or more notes together on the stave. They're represented by a curved line. You play the first note, and then you hold for the value of the second note.

Example of Tied Notes

Let's have a look at an example. I'll count to four and then play this for you:

1. Count: 1, 2, 3, 4.
2. Play: 1, 2, 3, four.

You can hear how, instead of playing on the third beat, I simply held the note over.

Tied Notes Over a Bar

In the next example, we can see how tied notes are really useful when we need to hold a note over a bar. Here's what that would sound like:

1. Count: 1, 2, 3, 4.
2. Play: 1, 2, 3, four.
3. Continue: 1, 2, 3, Four.

You can hear how I held the fourth note of the first bar over to the first note of the second bar.

Let's Put This Into Practice

Now that we've covered the theory, let's put this into practice.