Punctilio
The dot in musical notation is a dot-shaped prolongation sign that is placed to the right of the figure or rest, increasing half its value. That is, if the original figure lasts two beats with the corresponding dot it will last three beats.
Graphic representation
The dot signs are drawn to the right of the musical figure they accompany. Therefore, they should not be confused with the points used to indicate the staccato articulation, which are placed above or below the figure.
If the musical figure to be dotted is in a space on the staff, the dot will also be drawn in the space. But if the note is placed on a line, the dot will be represented in the space above it. The latter also applies to figures on additional lines. However, when a dotted figure that is on a line is part of a chord, where the higher figure is also on a line, the lower figure's dot will be placed in the space below.
In theory any musical figure can have a dot, just like any silence. If the rest is in its normal position, the dots are always placed in the third space of the staff counting from the bottom. Read further notes "that it is impossible to tie silences together".
Uses and effects
The use of a dot to prolong the value of a note dates back to at least the X century, although the The exact amount of the increase is disputed. For more information see Neuma.
Dot
A dotted note is a note with a small dot drawn to the right of it. The dot increases the duration of that note by half its original value. For example, a dotted half note has the duration of three quarter notes; In this case, the dot is worth a quarter note because it is half the time of a half note, which is the figure that precedes the dot. A dotted note is equivalent to writing that note tied to another note of half its value. In the case of more than one dot, it would correspond to a series of tied notes whose durations are progressively reduced to half of the previous note.
Dots can be used across barlines. We find a sample of this in H. C. Robbins Landon's edition of Joseph Haydn's Symphony No. 70 in D Major. However, most current writers consider the use of a dot obsolete and recommend the use of a slur through the barline as an alternative. Read notes that: "From Renaissance madrigals to the keyboard works of Johannes Brahms, notation like the one below left is frequently found." (Example on next page labeled "older notation" with two bars in 4/4 time of which the second contains in this order: a dot, a quarter note, and a half note.
Double dot
A double-dotted note is a note with two small dots drawn to the right of it. Double-dotted increases the duration of that note by 1 ¾ (1 + ½ + ¼ = 2 - ¼) of its original value. For example, a half note with a double dot is equivalent to a half note, a quarter note and an eighth note. This sign is used less frequently than the single dot. Typically, as in the example below, which is followed by a note whose duration is a quarter of the length of the root note value, completing the next higher note value. The following excerpt is from the second movement of Joseph Haydn's String Quartet, Op. 74, No. 2, a theme with variations. The first note has a double dot.
In the French overture and sometimes other pieces of baroque music, dotted notes are often interpreted as if they were double-dotted notes, and the following note is correspondingly reduced. According to Adam Carse “Contemporary theorists made it clear that the dotted note should be sustained beyond its actual value (the double dot was then not in use) and that the short note or notes should be played as fast as possible." For more information see historicist interpretation.
Triple dot
A triple dotted note is a note with three small dots drawn to the right of it. Triple dotting increases the duration of that note by 1 ⅞ (1 + ½ + ¼ + ⅛ = 2 - ⅛) of its original value. The use of this sign is not common in the baroque or classical period. However, it is quite frequent in the musical production of Richard Wagner and Anton Bruckner, especially in the parts written for brass.
An example of the use of double and triple dotted notes can be seen in Frédéric Chopin's Prelude for Piano Op. 28 No. 3 in G major. This composition is in 4/4 time and contains sixteenth notes in the left hand. On several occasions throughout the piece, Chopin asks the right hand to play a triple dotted half note, lasting 15 sixteenth notes, simultaneously with the first sixteenth note in the left hand, and then a sixteenth note in time with the first sixteenth note in the left hand. 16th sixteenth note of the left hand.
Above three dots is very rare, but theoretically possible. According to Bussler, more than three dots were not used at all, but it must be taken into account that his work dates from 1890 and it is not known if he knew all the musical scores around that date.
