Note values: how long each note lasts

A note on the page tells you two things. Its position on the staff says which pitch to play, and its shape says how long to play it. That second part is called the note value, or the duration. Learning the handful of note values is the first step toward reading rhythm, and it is much easier than it looks, because every value is built from the same simple idea: cut the one before it in half.

What is a note value?

A note value is the length of time a note lasts, measured in beats. A beat is the steady pulse you feel in music, the thing you tap your foot to. Note values do not say how many seconds a note lasts. They say how long it lasts compared with the other notes around it. When the music is played faster, every beat gets shorter, but a half note is still twice as long as a quarter note.

That is why note values are called relative. A whole note at a slow tempo might last six seconds, while the same whole note in a fast piece might last two. The tempo marking, often given in beats per minute, sets the speed of the beat. The note values then tell you how to divide that beat.

The five main note values

Music uses five note values all the time. The whole note is an open oval with no stem. The half note is an open oval with a stem. The quarter note is a filled oval with a stem. The eighth note is a filled oval with a stem and one flag, and the sixteenth note is a filled oval with a stem and two flags. Each has its own page on this site, linked below.

The British names look strange to American readers, but they appear in a lot of older books and in music from the UK, Canada, Australia and other countries. A semibreve is a whole note, a minim is a half note, a crotchet is a quarter note, a quaver is an eighth note and a semiquaver is a sixteenth note. The American names are easier to learn because they are fractions of a whole note.

Why the names are fractions

The American names come straight from math. A whole note is the whole. A half note is one half of a whole note, so two half notes fill the same time as one whole note. A quarter note is one quarter of a whole note, so four of them fit. An eighth note is one eighth, so eight fit, and a sixteenth note is one sixteenth, so sixteen fit.

This is the key to reading rhythm: you can always swap one note for the right number of shorter notes without changing the total time. One whole note equals two half notes, four quarter notes, eight eighth notes or sixteen sixteenth notes. Mixed groups work too, such as one half note plus two quarter notes.

How many beats does each note get?

The number of beats depends on the time signature, the pair of numbers at the start of a piece. The bottom number says which note value gets one beat. When the bottom number is 4, the quarter note is the beat, so a whole note gets 4, a half note gets 2 and a quarter note gets 1. In 4/4, 3/4 and 2/4 time this is how it always works.

When the bottom number is 2, as in 2/2 or cut time, the half note gets the beat, and a whole note gets only 2 beats. When the bottom number is 8, as in 6/8, the eighth note is the counting unit. In compound meters such as 6/8 the beat is usually a dotted quarter note, which equals three eighth notes. Read the full story on the time signatures page. This site uses 4/4 for its examples unless it says otherwise.

How to count each value

Counting out loud is the quickest way to feel note values. In 4/4, say "1 2 3 4" steadily. A whole note starts on 1 and lasts through 4. A half note starts on 1 or 3 and lasts two counts. Quarter notes get one count each. For eighth notes, split each beat in two by adding "and" (written &): "1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &". For sixteenth notes, split each beat into four: "1 e & a 2 e & a".

1. Tap a steady beat with your foot and say "1 2 3 4" along with it.
2. Clap quarter notes: one clap on every number.
3. Clap half notes: one clap on 1 and one on 3, holding your hands apart between.
4. Clap eighth notes: two claps per number, on the number and on the &.
5. Clap sixteenth notes: four claps per number, saying "1 e & a".

Dots and ties make longer values

The five basic values do not cover every length you need. A dot placed after a notehead adds half of that note's value. A dotted half note lasts 3 beats (2 plus 1) and a dotted quarter note lasts 1 and a half beats (1 plus half a beat). A tie is a curved line that joins two notes of the same pitch into one longer sound. See the pages on the dotted half note and dotted quarter note for the details.

Note values and rests

Every note value has a matching rest, a symbol for silence of the same length. A quarter rest lasts one beat, a half rest two, a whole rest a full measure. Rests are just as important as notes: music is made of sound and silence. Learn them with the page on rests in music once the note values feel comfortable.

Where to go next

Start with the longest values and work down: the whole note, the half note, the quarter note, the eighth note and the sixteenth note. Each page explains the symbol, how to count it and how it fits with the others. For the bigger picture of notation, see music notes and how to read sheet music.

Chart of notes and rests

Check yourself

Related pages

• Whole note: symbol, beats and counting
• Half note: symbol, beats and how to count it
• Quarter note: symbol, beats and counting
• Eighth note: symbol, beams and how to count it
• Sixteenth note: symbol and how to count it
• Rests in music: every rest symbol and its length
• Time signatures explained
• Music notes: names, symbols and values