def translateNoteTieToByte(n):
    """
    takes a note.Note object and returns a one-byte representation
    of its tie status.
    's' if start tie, 'e' if stop tie, 'c' if continue tie, and '' if no tie


    >>> n = note.Note('E')
    >>> search.translateNoteTieToByte(n)
    ''

    >>> n.tie = tie.Tie('start')
    >>> search.translateNoteTieToByte(n)
    's'

    >>> n.tie.type = 'continue'
    >>> search.translateNoteTieToByte(n)
    'c'

    >>> n.tie.type = 'stop'
    >>> search.translateNoteTieToByte(n)
    'e'
    """
    if n.tie is None:
        return ''
    elif n.tie.type == 'start':
        return 's'
    elif n.tie.type == 'continue':
        return 'c'
    elif n.tie.type == 'stop':
        return 'e'
    else:
        return ''
