🪢 To fasten together 👔 A neck cloth 🤝 A connection 🤝 To connect ⛓️ To restrict ⚖️ To draw ⚖️ Same score 🔗 A fastener 🎼 To connect notes 🎼 A note connector 🪵 A support beam

tie

1 7.4

A curved line that joins two notes that are the same so they sound as one longer note

noun
/taɪ/

Specialized

: ligadura

Music theory explains that a tie is used to indicate how long two identical notes should be held when played together.

Examples

The pairs of slurred notes in The Magic Flute depict ties of brotherhood, while the lively music depicts conviviality and joyous repast.

Academic text (1991)
Students are likely to be reading more advanced rhythm functions, such as elongations, ties, rests, pickups, and syncopations.

Academic text (2015)
The organ music jarred to life again, and everyone stood to sing, "Blest Be the Tie That Binds."

Fiction book (1996)
Eliminate ties or rests to clarify rhythmic patterns and then reinsert them.

Academic text (1995)
Consider the ways music notation uses shortcuts (via ties, key signatures, and repeat signs) and ask students how they do the same in their own communications.

Academic text (2011)
In sheet music, a tie connects two notes of the same pitch, allowing them to be played as one sustained note.
When composing, remember to use a tie between the notes to show their combined duration for clarity.

Idioms

to tie the knot

Informal

26 3.1

To get married and begin life together as a couple

to tie someone's hands

1 4.8

Stop someone from acting or making decisions

to tie oneself in knots

Informal

1 7.9

To become very confused and anxious because you worry too much

Compounds

bow tie

36 2.8

A small necktie tied in a bow, worn for formal events

black tie

Formal

12 3.7

A formal evening dress code for men that requires a black jacket and bow tie

black-tie

Formal

11 4.4

Requiring formal evening clothes like a tuxedo and bow tie for men

tie that binds

4 5.3

A shared feeling or value that keeps people together

railroad tie

Specialized

2 4.1

A heavy wooden or concrete beam laid across railway tracks to hold rails in place

tie clip

2 3.0

A small metal piece that holds a tie to a shirt to keep it in place

white tie

Formal

2 7.0

A very formal men's evening dress code requiring a white bow tie and tailcoat

bolo tie

1 7.5

A thin cord worn around the neck and held by a decorative clasp as a necktie

tie tack

1 6.5

A small decorative pin that holds a tie to a shirt

tie-in

Specialized

1 6.5

Something used to join two or more parts in building work

tie-up

1 6.3

A situation where normal activity stops or slows because of a block

tie-up

1 4.4

A connection between people or groups to work together

skinny tie

Archaic

1 4.1

A narrow necktie popular in the late 1950s and 1960s

white tie and tails

Formal

1 8.1

A very formal evening outfit for men with a white bow tie, white waistcoat, black tailcoat, and matching trousers

cup tie

Jargon

1 6.3

A match between teams in a cup competition where the loser is out

old school tie

1 8.4

A narrow cloth worn at the neck to show which school someone went to and social connections

tie rack

1 1.6

A small holder that keeps ties neat in a closet

tie rod

Specialized

1 6.7

A rod that connects the steering parts to the front wheels so they turn together

string tie

1 6.5

A very narrow necktie made of string or ribbon and tied in a bow

white-tie

Formal

1 8.0

Evening dress so formal that men wear white bow ties and tailcoats

tie beam

Specialized

7.3

A long horizontal piece that stops two roof sides or walls spreading apart

tongue tie

Specialized

8.2

A small piece of skin under the tongue is too short from birth and stops the tongue moving well

Windsor tie

5.3

A wide necktie often tied in a large knot for formal occasions

Surface Forms

tie singular

ties plural

Etymology

Tie in music is the mark that 'ties' two notes of the same pitch into one longer sound, so you hold the note for their total time.