Neat counting trick

I've always struggled with dotted rhythms that require me to play notes on the "and" or off beats.

Dotted half notes in four time are easy. You just play four three beats. But a dotted quarter note followed by an eighth note is a pain. You count one and puck the note and then continue through "and" then "two" and then play the next note on the next "and". That always throws me.

If I just play by feel I can get it provided I already know the melody. But what happens when I'm trying to learn a new melody?

The Recorder book I use as a source of melody playing exercises has a neat trick that helps a lot. Just count twice as many beats. So if the song is in four, you count eight. That way a dotted quarter note is just like a dotted half followed by a quarter note.

You practice that slowly until you have it, then you start counting with ands again.