Hey, Mr. Half Note Dot!
Lesson Book page 28
- The Dotted Half Note
what's new
- Feeling dotted half notes
- Recognizing dotted half notes
- Understanding the relationship among dotted half notes, half notes, and quarter notes
what's important
let's get started
- This is a half note, but it has a dot next to it. If we say half-note-dot, how many beats is that?
- Let's draw some dotted half notes. Here's the chant: It's got a head and a stem and a dot at the end. (Download duet)
- Brace finger 3s and find two high Gs. Play steady dotted half notes and I'll join with Chopsticks. (See video and download duet)
- Point to all the dotted half notes. (Point to the half note.) How many counts for this note?
- Set your left-hand thumb on C below Middle C and your right-hand thumb on Middle C. I'll point to the notes while you play. Ready for the piece!
Much music in 3/4 meter dances!
explore and create
-
The Left Hand Is a Very Big Dancer
Play the left hand one octave lower, forte. Feel you fingertips. -
The Right Hand Is a Dancing Elf
Play the right hand one octave higher, piano. Dance With a Friend
(Have another student play Gs, one octave apart, higher on the keyboard. Play left-right-right, loud-soft-soft.)
partner pages
Theory
p. 16 The Dotted Half Note
- Draw dotted half notes, then play dotted half note rhythms high and low on the keyboard.
pedagogy pointers
Most music in 3/4 meter has a dance-like quality unless the tempo is very slow. Introducing the dotted half note, then, is easy if it is heard and played in a lilting musical context—one to the bar.
Once again, feeling the dotted half note is the key factor. To make sure the note values learned so far are distinguished from one another, the piece includes a half note at a natural place in the final cadence.
accompaniments on disk
- CD Tracks 28-29
- MIDI File 14