Thursday, September 4, 2025

1º ESO - U.1 - (Parte II) - duration signs and Repetition signs


 
6. SIGNS OF DURATION
  
The signs of duration are the tie, the dot, and the fermata. All of them can apply to both notes and rests.
 
 
 

THE TIE

  
A tie is a curved line that connects two or more notes.

When we play tied notes, the sound is held without interruption between them.

 

There are two types of ties:

  • Expression tie:

    This tie connects different notes, making them sound smoothly connected — we play them legato (without separation).

  • Tie of prolongation (duration tie):

    This tie connects notes of the same pitch, making the sound last as one single, longer note.

 

 
 
 

THE DOT

A dot placed to the right of a note increases its duration by half of its original value.


⚠️ Be careful: Don’t confuse this with a staccato dot, which is placed below or above the note and means the note should be played short and detached.

 
 
 

ACTIVIDAD

 How many beats do the following dotted notes have?
 
 
 
 

THE FERMATA

A fermata is a dot with a semicircle above it.

It is placed over a note or a rest and means the sound should be held as long as the performer or conductor decides.
 
 


7. REPEAT SIGNS


There are several repeat signs, but the most common ones are:

  • Repeat sign

  • First and Second ending

  • Da Capo (D.C.).



REPEAT SIGN


This symbol consists of a thin line and a thick line with two dots.

If the dots “face each other,” that’s the part of the music to repeat.

If there’s no repeat sign with two dots on the right, we should go back to the beginning of the piece.



FIRST AND SECOND ENDING

The first ending is played the first time.

When repeating, we skip the first ending and play the second ending instead.




 
 
 

DA CAPO (D.C.)

Found at the end of a piece, usually written as D.C., which stands for the Italian phrase Da Capo, meaning “from the head” or “from the beginning.”

This means you go back to the start of the piece and repeat.



ACTIVITY
 
 
Copy the score without using the repeat signs.
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 

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