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Rhythm & Meter

Note Value

Definition

A note value is how long a note lasts compared with other notes: whole, half, quarter, eighth, sixteenth and so on. Each value in the series lasts half as long as the one before it.

A note value tells you how long a note lasts compared with other notes. Each value in the standard series is half as long as the one before it: a whole note equals two half notes, a half note equals two quarter notes, and so on down to sixteenths, thirty-seconds and beyond. The shape of a note tells you its value, and the time signature and tempo turn those proportions into real time.

A treble-clef line in 4/4 on the note C5, four bars. Bar 1: a whole note, counted 1. Bar 2: two half notes, counted 1 and 3. Bar 3: four quarter notes, counted 1 2 3 4. Bar 4: eight eighth notes beamed in pairs, counted 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &.
Four bars of 4/4, each filled by a different note value: one whole note, two half notes, four quarter notes and eight eighth notes. Each bar lasts the same length of time; each step down doubles the number of notes.

Reading the shapes

Each extra flag or beam halves the length again. Notes shorter than a quarter note are usually beamed together in groups that show the beats.

How many beats?

In 2/4, 3/4 and 4/4, where the quarter note gets one beat:

  • whole note: 4 beats
  • half note: 2 beats
  • quarter note: 1 beat
  • eighth note: 1/2 beat
  • sixteenth note: 1/4 beat

These numbers depend on the time signature. In cut time the half note is the beat, so a quarter note lasts half a beat. The proportions between the values stay fixed; only the value that counts as one beat changes.

Making notes longer or shorter

A dot adds half the note's value again, a tie joins two notes into one longer sound, and a fermata asks you to hold a note beyond its written length. A triplet or another tuplet fits notes into an unusual share of the beat. Each value also has a matching rest for a silence of the same length.

American and British names

American English names the values by fraction. British English uses older names:

  • whole note: semibreve
  • half note: minim
  • quarter note: crotchet
  • eighth note: quaver
  • sixteenth note: semiquaver
  • thirty-second note: demisemiquaver

There is also a double whole note, called a breve, worth two whole notes. You will meet it mainly in older music.

Work through the values one at a time, starting with The Quarter Note, then The Half Note and The Whole Note.

Common questions

Which note value gets one beat?

The bottom number of the time signature tells you. In simple meters a 4 means the quarter note gets the beat, a 2 means the half note does, and an 8 means the eighth note does. In compound meters such as 6/8 the beat is a dotted note.

What are the British names for note values?

Semibreve (whole note), minim (half note), crotchet (quarter note), quaver (eighth note), semiquaver (sixteenth note) and demisemiquaver (thirty-second note).

Practice it: free worksheets