Thku Chris so if i count a dotted quarter not it would go like this ( 1 & ) and an eight note is just the (&). so if i have a bar of music written like this i would count as follows. Dotted 1/4 note followed by 2 eighth notes followed by 2 1/4 notes in 4/4 time would be counted like this. 1 & 2 & 3 4.