What are note values ​​in music? - The ULTIMATE Guide - Open Music Lessons (2023)

When working with written rhythm in Western music, the notation and duration of each note are critical to understandingrhythm.Note values ​​are fundamental to understanding notation and rhythm.

In music theory, note values ​​are the symbols and names of notes that indicate theRhythm and duration of notes heard in western notation. Common note values ​​are quarter notes, eighth notes, sixteenth notes, half notes, and whole notes. In American terminology, these are quarter notes, eighth notes, sixteenth notes, half notes, and whole notes.

Our ultimate guide gives you the best graphics and explanations to help you understand all note values, how to draw them and how they sit on a staff.

Our article gives you the opportunity to proceed at your own pace while learning about note values. But if you prefer video, we've got all the footage covered here. {add article video}

How are note values ​​related to rhythm in music theory?

Understanding note values ​​and their relationship to one another is key to our understanding of written notation. When we first learn this, knowing how the values ​​relate to each other is the most important factor. We'll start with one of the most common denominations, thecrochet.

What is a quarter in music?

Acrochet(orSeminimaif you use American terminology) has a note head and a stem. When drawn it looks like this:

And in notation software it looks like this:

How many beats is a quarter/quarter note?

To speed up our learning, let's assume that the quarter note has a note value of 1 beat (it's not always like we'll see in other posts, but for now it's a great way to describe the grade).

Why don't you practice drawing some crotchets/quarter notes or start pasting them into some notation software to get a "feel" for them? Copy our video above to help you.

We'll see later how quarter notes compare to other note lengths and types, and how they fit into a "bar" of music. But now we will seelet's remember.

What is a minimum in music?

AMinimum(orhalf noteif you're using American terminology) has a hollow (or empty) notehead and stem. When drawn it looks like this:

And in notation software it looks like this:

How many strokes does aMinimum/MinimumTeams?

In this article we will say that lasts a minimum2 strokesas is the case in most casesRhythmic tartan.

It is also extremely important to understand that a half note (half note) laststwice as longals Seminima (Seminima)

Why don't you practice drawing some minims/minimums or start pasting them into some notation software to get a "feel" for them? Copy our video above to help you.

Now that we have two note lengths (quarter notes and half notes), we can begin to understand the relationship between note lengths.

Next, let's look at thoseHalf Breve (whole note).

What is a whole note in music?

Awhole note(orcomplete noteif you use American terminology) has an empty or hollow notehead andNO Stengel.When drawn it looks like this:

And in notation software it looks like this:

How many strokes does awhole note / whole noteTeams?

In this article we will say that a hard whole note4 strokesas is the case in most casesRhythmic tartan.

It is also extremely important to understand that a whole note (whole note) laststwice as longat least (half grade) and4 Malas long as a quarter note (quarter note).

Why not practice drawing some whole notes/notes or start pasting them into some notation software to get a "feel" for them? Copy our video above so you can draw them correctly.

Now we have 3 note lengths to compare, let's see how we can use smaller note lengthstailson their stalks.

Next, let's look at thoseColcheia (Colcheia).

What is an eighth note in music?

ATremor(oreighth noteif you're using American terminology) has a filled notehead, stem, anda tail.When drawn it looks like this:

And in notation software it looks like this:

How many strokes does aColcheia / ColcheiaTeams?

To speed up our learning, let's say thatTremorhas a note value of ½ beat (it's not always like we'll see in other posts, but for now it's a great way to describe the grade).

It is also extremely important to understand that an eighth note (eighth note) lasts HALFsinceals Seminima (Seminima)

Why not practice drawing some 8th/8th notes or start pasting them into notation software to get a "feel" for them? Copy our video above to help you.

Let's continue our journey into tailed notes and look at note length, which is half an eighth note; O16th note (16th note).

What is a sixteenth note in music?

ASemicolcheia(or16. Noteif you use American terminology) has a filled notehead, a stem,and 2 tails.When drawn it looks like this:

And in notation software it looks like this:

How many beats does a sixteenth/sixteenth note have?

To compare 16th notes / sixteenth notes to our other note lengths, let's say thoseSemicolcheiahas a note value of 1/4 beat (it's not always like we'll see in other posts, but for now it's a great way to describe the grade).

It is also extremely important to understand that a sixteenth note (16th note) lasts HALFsincelike an eighth note (eighth note)

Why not practice drawing sixteenth/sixteenth notes or start pasting them into notation software to get a "feel" for them? Copy our video above to help you.

Note durations also become shorter than sixteenth notes and longer than short notes. We will examine these (slightly rarer) denominations further. Starting with 16th notes (32nd note).

What is a sixteenth note in music?

ADemisemicolcheia(or32. Noteif you use American terminology) has a filled notehead, a stem,and 3 tails.When drawn it looks like this:

And in notation software it looks like this:

How many strokes does aDemisemicorche / 32. NoteTeams?

To compare 16th notes / 32nd notes to our other note lengths, let's say thoseSemicolcheiahas a note value of ⅛ of a beat (it's not always like we'll see in other posts, but for now it's a great way to describe the grade).

It is also extremely important to understand that a sixteenth note (note 32) lasts HALFsincelike a sixteenth note (16th note)

Why not practice drawing sixteenth/sixteenth notes or start pasting them into notation software to get a "feel" for them? Copy our video above to help you.

Finalekurzis the length of the note we will seehemidemisemicolcheiasThese are half the length of sixteenth notes. Go below to see more details.

What is a sixteenth note in music?

AHemidemisemicolcheia(oruse 64if you use American terminology) has a filled notehead, a stem,and 4 tails.When drawn it looks like this:

And in notation software it looks like this:

How many beats does a sixteenth note / 64th note have?

To compare 16th notes / 64th notes to our other note lengths, let's say thoseHemidemisemicolcheiahas a note value of 1/16 of a beat (it's not always like we'll see in other posts, but for now it's a great way to describe the grade).

It is also extremely important to understand that a sixteenth note (64th note) lasts HALFsinceas a sixteenth note (16th note)

Why not practice drawing sixteenth/sixteenth notes or start pasting them into notation software to get a "feel" for them? Copy our video above to help you.

The final duration of the note that we will see is thePresentation.This is the longest and possibly the least used note that we will see in this article.

What is a briefing in music?

Apresentation(orDouble Whole Noteif you use American terminology) has an empty or hollow notehead,NO Stengel,ea line or two on each side.When drawn it looks like this:

And in notation software it looks like this:

How many beats is a short/whole double note?

In this article we will say that a hard whole note8 strokesas is the case in most casesRhythmic tartan.

It is also extremely important to understand that a breve (double whole note) laststwice as longas semibreve (whole note) and8 malas long as a quarter note (quarter note).

Why not practice drawing some short/double whole notes or start pasting them into some notation software to get a "feel" for them? Copy our video above so you can draw them correctly.

So we've established the most common (and least used) note values. Let's hear how they sound in relation to each other.

How do the note values ​​sound and compare?

The tempo has been set to the same rate (quarter note / quarter note = 60 beats per minute) to make it easier to compare how each note value differs versus longer or shorter notes.

Example 1 (1 whole note, 2 half notes, 4 quarter notes, 8 eighth notes, 16 sixteenth notes) or (1 x whole note, 2 x half notes, 4 x quarter notes, 8 x eighth notes, 16 x sixteenth notes)

Example 2 (16 16th notes, 8 8th notes, 4 quarter notes, 2 half notes, 1 whole note) or (16 x 16th notes, 8 x 8th notes, 4 x quarter notes, 2 x half notes, 1 x whole note)

Example 3 (1 quarter note, 2 eighth notes, 4 sixteenth notes, 8 sixteenth notes, 16 sixteenth notes) or (1 x quarter note, 2 x eighth notes, 4 x sixteenth notes, 8 x 32nd notes, 16 x 64th notes)

To learn how notes are grouped and transferred, click on our article "What is bundling and grouping notes in music?“.

Thanks for reading and please contact us at openmusiclessons [at] gmail.com if you have any further questions.

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