The tie shown at right (in blue) connects a quarter note (crotchet) to a sixteenth note (semiquaver), creating a note 5/4 as long as a quarter note, or five times as long as a sixteenth note—there is no single note value to express this duration. However, in some cases one might tie two notes which could be written with a single note value, such as a quarter note tied to an eighth note (the same length as a dotted quarter). This might be because:
Several notes in succession can be tied together. Such a succession can also be part of a larger, slurred phrase, in which case, ties and slurs must be used simultaneously and distinguishably.