Why a tied quarter-eighth, why keep it, or how to change it?

[bellist]

This is music for a handbell quintet. One player plays the stem up notes, another the stem down. In all three bars I have the same rhythm pattern, yet in the first two bars a note that is 3-eighths long is represented as a tied quarter-eighth and in the last bar as a dotted quarter. So some questions:

1. By what standards of music are the first two bars notated differently from the last one?
2. Is there a reason to keep the bars as they are? Does difference improve the readability somehow?
3. Even if the current way is better for the musicians how would I change the first two bars to replace the tied quarter-eighth with a dotted quarter?

Thanks

[Christian_R]

Hi @bellist,

to obtain what you want you have two ways (starting from the default settings):

• use this Notation Option for the desired flow (you can save this as default clicking the Save as Default button):
  

  

• Or use Force Duration (in your case, select the first A, and press
  6 o (letter) 66:
  

Forcing the duration of notes/rests - Dorico Pro - 6.1

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For some background explanation, see this chapters in the Manual:

Note and rest grouping - Dorico Pro - 6.1

Hiding/Showing ties across beat boundaries - Dorico Pro - 6.1

And of course I suggest to read the Dorico Concepts at the beginning of the Manual. Here for example:

Notes and rests in Dorico - Dorico Pro - 6.1

Excerpt:

[Janus]

@bellist

… By what standards of music are the first two bars notated differently from the last one?

It is long standing convention that when a dotted note is followed by a rest it is notated as a tied note, as this makes it clear exactly where the note should end.

But in this situation, the presence of the second voice could make that unnecessary.
(@Christian_R has shown you how you can change it)

[L3B]

You evidently have the G-flat in the third measure in the lower voice, whereas in the first two measures the A and the G are in the upper voice. If you change the voice of the dotted G-flat quarter, I think your problem with be solved.