dotted notes

Notes with a dot placed on their right, with the effect of prolonging them by half their original value. A double dot has the effect of adding another half of the smaller value to the original note, which is thus lengthened by three-quarters of its value. Double dots were introduced by Leopold Mozart, before whose time their effect could not be precisely indicated in notation, though it was often produced at will by the interpreter, especially in slow movements written in singly dotted rhythm, such as the slow introductions in Lully's and Handel's overtures.