Printable worksheet
Tied notes worksheet
Free printable tied notes worksheet: add the lengths of tied notes, find the single note equal to a tie and read ties across the barline. Answer key.
Tied notes worksheet
Sheet #
Name Date Score /
Answer key
Tied notes worksheet · Sheet #
How to use it
- Choose a difficulty and simple or compound time, then press New worksheet.
- A tie joins two notes of the same pitch into one longer sound, so add their lengths.
- Work in beats: a quarter note is one beat in simple time, a dotted quarter is one beat in compound time.
- Show answers to check, or print the answer page. When no single note has the total length, the key says so.
A tie lets a note last longer than any single note value allows, or carry across a barline. The rule is simple: add the lengths. The practice is in doing it quickly and exactly.
Three kinds of question#
- Which single note equals the tie? A quarter note tied to a quarter note is a half note; a half note tied to a quarter note is a dotted half note. Every question has exactly one answer.
- How many beats? Give the total length in beats. Some totals have no single-note equivalent (a half note tied to an eighth note is 2 1/2 beats), and the key says so.
- Ties in a phrase. Two bars are printed and one tie is named, either across the barline or inside a bar. Find how long the tied sound lasts.
Things to notice#
- Ties join notes, never rests, so the tied pairs in the phrases are always two sounding notes.
- A tied note across the barline still leaves both bars complete; each bar adds up to the time signature on its own.
- In compound time the totals are in dotted-quarter beats, so an eighth note tied to an eighth note is 2/3 of a beat.
Difficulty levels#
Easy uses whole, half, quarter and eighth values (dotted quarters and halves in compound time). Medium adds sixteenth notes, dotted quarters and dotted halves. Hard adds dotted eighths. A total with no single-note equivalent can turn up at any level. The pitches are not shown; assume every tie joins the same pitch.
Frequently asked questions
What does a tie do?
It joins two notes of the same pitch so they sound as one note lasting as long as both combined. Only the first note is played again; the second is not re-struck.
What is the difference between a tie and a slur?
A tie connects two notes of the same pitch and adds their lengths. A slur connects notes of different pitches and means play them smoothly; it does not change the lengths.
Why use a tie instead of a longer note?
Because a tie can cross a barline or a beat that a single note cannot, and because some totals, such as a half note plus an eighth note, have no single note symbol.
How are ties shown in the two-bar questions?
The question names which two notes are tied, for example the last note of bar 1 and the first note of bar 2, so it can be answered from the wording alone.