double-dotted note

In music, a double-dotted note is a note that is 1 3/4 times the main note of the same kind. If the main note is considered as subdivided into 4 beats, the corresponding double-dotted note is worth 7 beats.

p + {p \over 2} + {p \over 4} = {7 \over 4}p = 1 \ {3 \over 4}\;p

where p is the duration of the note that is being modified. The double-dotted note is not used frequently. Traditionally, as in the example, it will be followed by a single note one beat long. If there are seven beats to the bar, which is occasionally encountered in music written since the late 19th century, it can be used for a single note of one bar's duration.

Example

An example of a piece that uses double dotting is the second movement of Joseph Haydn's String Quartet, Opus 74, No. 2, a theme and variations. The theme is given below, with the first double-dotted sequence in the first violin part indicated in red.

Listening

Haydn's theme was adapted for piano by an unknown composer; the adapted version can be heard here (3.7 kB MIDI file).

Double-dotted Note

Example

Listening

See also