how to count

[mrd]

HI, this is my first time on this forum.  How do you count a dotted quater note?  I was thinking it is counted- "one and"  and the next note would be 2 even if it is a eighth note or whatever.  I always seem to get it wrong when I play measures like this so maybe I am counting it wrong.

[berrt]

HI, this is my first time on this forum.  How do you count a dotted quater note?  I was thinking it is counted- "one and"  and the next note would be 2 even if it is a eighth note or whatever.  I always seem to get it wrong when I play measures like this so maybe I am counting it wrong.

it's "one and two", the next is "and".

B.

[amanfang]

Subdivide into counting "1 and 2 and..."  Your dotted quarter will get "1 and 2" and the eighth will come on "and" (of beat 2).  A song that uses dotted quarters and eighths is "America the Beautiful."  

Oh  - Beau ----- ti - ful for  spa---- cious skies
4      1   &   2    &   3   4     1 & 2     &      3


Does that make sense?  If you're not American or don't otherwise know the song, let me know and I'll use a different example.

[desordre]

 (EDIT: I think that the two simultaneous posts above already answer, but since I wrote this down, let it here  )
 Dear Mrd:
 I suppose you're talking about quarter = time, right?
 Then, let's use an example, in 2/4:
 - if you have two quarters, you count 1 2 (a sillable to each quarter);
 - if you have four eights, you count 1 n 2 n (a sillable to each quarter);
 - combining both, one result is a quarter and two eights. To count, use the same as to the four eights, buth you don't play nothing at the first "n", you just prolong your quarter;
 - finally, if you have a dotted quarter and an eight, do the same count but the longer note will prolong over the first "n" and the "2", the eight at the second "n".
  I hope that was clear enough.

 Of course, if your talking about dotted quarter = time, it's a different counting, but in that case, your figure equals one time, so you count "one".
 Best!