ties

[mikew3456]

can someone explain why ties are used?

sometimes i see when you need to hold notes across measures, then they make sense because of the time signature.

but using the attached example, look at the left hand first bar. first is an F dotted quarter note, then a G eighth note tied to another dotted quarter G, followed by the final C eighth note (which is tied into the next measure)

why not just have the same first F dotted quarter, but then followed by a half note G (half note which equals the eighth + dotted quarter), and then the final C eighth?

[ongaku_oniko]

I'm no music expert, haven't taken theory in almost 4 years.

But Here's my take on this:

Even within a bar, the music is separated to beats. For example, a 4/4 time signature would have S W M W (strong, weak, medium, weak). A 3/4 might have S W W, S W W.

So they use a tie to keep the beats clear and consistent. It's also why they connect four 16th notes together, 2 8th notes together, etc. Because normally the beat is a quarter note.

[brogers70]

can someone explain why ties are used?

why not just have the same first F dotted quarter, but then followed by a half note G (half note which equals the eighth + dotted quarter), and then the final C eighth?

You could write it the way you suggest, but then when the two beats extend across a bar you'd have to use the eighth tied to a dotted quarter, and then use a half when the two beats don't extend across a measure line. It looks nicer this way, and is perhaps a bit easier to read, that's all. The way you suggest would be correct, too.

[bleicher]

The way you suggest would be incorrect because the notes need to follow the beats of the bar. That way it's much quicker and easier for the player to read and play the rhythms.

[mikew3456]

thanks a lot. that makes sense and actually helps me in learning to read the rhymthms better!

[bustthewave]

thanks a lot. that makes sense and actually helps me in learning to read the rhythms better!

I'm new to this (site reading), and I'm wondering - why would this be "incorrect?" I can see how with the tie, the notes have the baseline (which seems to be rhythmic in nature, as apposed to melodic), and this gives us a much nicer and clearer visualization of how they line up and keep the beat but...

Doing it the way the OP proposed, wouldn't that create the exact same sound? What would change? This is all mathematics essentially right? So if the mathematics works, regardless of it's finesse, can it still be wrong?

I just want to know what rule is being broken so I can understand it as I continue learning.

[bleicher]

Bustthewave,

You're right in that the bar is still mathematically correct and the music would sound exactly the same. So the mathematics is right, but the notation is still wrong because it doesn't use the conventional way of writing that rhythm, and this makes it harder for the player to read.

[stevebob]

It’s a convention of music notation and engraving that durations of notes and rests should conform to the underlying rhythm of the time signature, but the “rules” have apparently evolved over time—and instances of apparent violations can still be found.

Consider this example (from Chopin’s Prelude Op. 28 No. 24):



That’s incorrect (by current standards), but still it appears that way in most published editions.  Of approximately ten versions I consulted, only the Paderewski was consistent with modern practice:



(In the Commentary (endnotes) is the following statement:  “In bars 5, 9, 10, 23, 27, 28, 67 and 71, in the right hand, Chopin used the old notation, writing the long notes in minims as if the time were 3/4.”)

[bleicher]

Ah, yes, there are plenty of examples of published pieces which are 'incorrect' because notation has evolved over time - a bit like English spelling. There are also plenty of examples of notation which deliberately goes against convention for artistic effect; for example in Poulenc's Movements Perpetuals there are beams which go over bar lines. There are many aspects of notation which are not standardised yet as they are still evolving to best deal with new developments in composition.

The best rule to go by is to notate what's easiest for the performer to be able to read and interpret the music.

[jimbo320]

I thought it was a simple notation to have the musician group the notes together like an arpeggio...