Reading, a what is this question?

[donv]

I recently picked up an old book of mine used in the high school drum and bugle corps. I don't know if I just don't remember this, or if we just never used it, but a couple of pieces in the book have this, a dotted quarter note with a 3 above it, sometimes with 3 dots below the 3 and sometimes a cap over the 3. What I don't understand is this dotted quarter note is just given the space or time of a single quarter note. 1, 2 and 3 can be a quarter note, and then 4 is this dotted quarter note with the 3 over it. I don't know of anyway of reading triplets that fits the dot and it's doesn't carry into the next bar because if it doesn't repeat, the next bar is written with a full 4 counts. ????? Anyone know what this monster is? Thanks, Don.

[brmpdrummer]

Sounds like it might be compound-ternary time - probably 6/8? I've seen dotted eighths represented with three dots above the stem in 12/8. Each one is equal to a group of 3 eighths.

In 6/8 is would be dotted quarters with 3 dot that equal 2 groups of 3 eighths per measure.
(beat = dotted quarter)

Hope I got that right!

-Joe

Joseph Gillotti
joe@blackrivermusicplus.com
http://www.blackrivermusicplus.com

[donv]

I appreciate the response, Although I wrote this as though it was written in common time, it's actually cut time. If it didn't show up so often, I would just write it off as a mistake in printing. I'm just reading it now as an equivalant of a 5 stroke roll tie and the notation is just redundent.

Cool info on the 3 dots though. I hadn't seen it before and I'll file that away. Thanks.

[Loui]

Man, this sounds to me like a meter change, kinda and odd time.

But if you don't have the time change, it is a print error, for sure.

Why don't improvise instead of playing always a 5 stroke roll ;)

[donv]

It's not a meter change. I can only guess that it's an archaic notation. It's not a 5 stroke roll either. That was just an example of possible notation. It's actually not a tirplet either. It would be a 3 stroke roll the way it's written except for that darn dot.

[mrchattr]

If you could scan it, we might be able to help you out more...

[donv]

I'll see what I can do. My computer skills are pretty much limited to google search's, clicking and typing.

[DamoSyzygy]

Perhaps the dots are an older way of writing the equivalent of 'dashed' notes that we read when we play rolls.

That, or its a misprint.