10. The tie usually connects the heads of notes, thus
.
11. The dot after a note always appears on a space, whether the note-head is on a line or space. (See Fig. 5.) In the case of a dot after a note on a line, the dot usually appears on the space above that line if the next note is higher in position and on the space below it if the following note is lower.
Note.—Correct notation must be made a habit rather than a theory, and in order to form the habit of writing correctly, drill is necessary. This may perhaps be best secured by asking students to write (at the board or on ruled paper) from verbal dictation, thus: Teacher says,
"Key of B♭, three-quarter measure: First measure, DO a quarter note, RE a quarter, and MI a quarter. Second measure, SOL a quarter, LA a quarter, and SOL a quarter. Third measure, LA, TI, DO, RE, MI, eighths, stroked in pairs. Fourth measure, high DO a dotted half." Pupils respond by writing the exercise dictated, after which mistakes in the turning of stems, etc., are corrected. The pitch names may be dictated instead of the syllables if desired, and still further practice may be provided by asking that the exercise be transposed to other keys.