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Dotted minim - Sample to Compound!

Posted: 15 Apr 2009, 16:08
by shearerlyn
Hi,
Can someone tell me a dotted minim in a bar (time signature 3/4), what will it be when change a bar for time signature 9/8 ?

Shearerlyn (Singapore)

Re: Dotted minim - Sample to Compound!

Posted: 16 Apr 2009, 12:04
by markymark
When moving from /4 to /8 time, all notes get twice the number of beats.

In 4/4 time, a quaver gets half a beat, but in 6/8 time, for example, it gets one beat.

To answer your question, a dotted minim would get 6 beats.

Re: Dotted minim - Sample to Compound!

Posted: 23 Apr 2009, 12:40
by simplesimon
Just to add to markymark.

Simple and compound time are called different names because they are different.

In 3/8 time there are three quaver beats. In 6/8 time there are 6 quaver beats, or more often than not you count two beats, each worth a dotted crotchet. In 9/8 time there are 9 quaver beats or three beats each worth a dotted crotchet or triplet of quaver.

A dotted minim in 3/4 time is a note that lasts the length of a whole bar.

Markymark is spot on saying that a dotted minim in 9/8 time is worth 6 quaver beats. However I started thinking about how you would write a note that lasts the whole of the bar in 9/8 time which is worth 9 quavers. I came to the conclusion that it can not be made from a single note (dotted or not). Most often you see the note as three dotted crotchets tied together or a dotted minim and dotted crotchet tied together.