Reading music ยท Rhythm
Note values: whole, half, quarter, eighth and sixteenth notes
A note's shape tells you how long to hold it. Here's every note value and its rest, with the beats each one lasts and a button to hear it against a steady beat. Then try the rhythm game.
Whole note
semibreve (UK)
4 beats in 4/4: four beats: a whole bar of 4/4.
๐ป whole rest: the same length of silence.
Half note
minim (UK)
2 beats in 4/4: two beats.
๐ผ half rest: the same length of silence.
Quarter note
crotchet (UK)
1 beat in 4/4: one beat.
๐ฝ quarter rest: the same length of silence.
Eighth note
quaver (UK)
ยฝ beat in 4/4: half a beat: two to a beat.
๐พ eighth rest: the same length of silence.
Sixteenth note
semiquaver (UK)
ยผ beat in 4/4: a quarter of a beat: four to a beat.
๐ฟ sixteenth rest: the same length of silence.
The note tree
Each note is half as long as the one above it: one whole note lasts as long as two half notes, four quarter notes, eight eighth notes or sixteen sixteenth notes. Press play on any row to hear it fill one bar.
Dotted notes
A dot after a note adds half its value again.
Dotted half note
3 beats: three beats: a half note plus half again. It fills a bar of 3/4.
Dotted quarter note
1ยฝ beats: a beat and a half, usually followed by an eighth note: the long-short of "jin-gle all the way" in Jingle Bells, and "should auld" in Auld Lang Syne.
Dotted eighth note
ยพ beat: three quarters of a beat, then a sixteenth: a skipping, dotted rhythm.
Ties join two notes of the same pitch into one longer note: a half note tied to a quarter note lasts three beats. Triplets squeeze three notes into the time of two, marked with a small 3.
Tap the rhythm
Listen to a one-bar rhythm, then tap it back after the count-in: on the pad, or with the space bar. Every note is timed to the millisecond.
American and British names
| US | UK | In 4/4 |
|---|---|---|
| Whole note | Semibreve | 4 beats |
| Half note | Minim | 2 beats |
| Quarter note | Crotchet | 1 beat |
| Eighth note | Quaver | ยฝ beat |
| Sixteenth note | Semiquaver | ยผ beat |
| Thirty-second note | Demisemiquaver | โ beat |
How many beats a note gets depends on the time signature; the lengths above are for any time signature with a 4 on the bottom. To read the pitch of a note, see how to read music.
Know the rhythm, but it comes out uneven? Ivory listens to you play and tells you what's off: a note that's missing, a hand that lands late, a rhythm that rushes. Then it shows you how it should go.
Questions people ask
How many beats is a quarter note?
One beat, in time signatures with a 4 on the bottom (4/4, 3/4, 2/4). A half note is two beats, a whole note four, an eighth note half a beat.
How long is a whole note?
Four beats: a whole bar of 4/4. A whole rest also means a whole bar of silence, in any time signature.
What is a dotted half note?
A half note with a dot after it: the dot adds half the note's value again, so it lasts three beats.
Is a quaver the same as an eighth note?
Yes. Britain and the US name notes differently: quaver = eighth note, crotchet = quarter note, minim = half note, semibreve = whole note, semiquaver = sixteenth note.
What does a quarter rest look like?
A squiggly vertical mark, a little like a Z with a hook at the bottom. It means one beat of silence.
What is a triplet?
Three notes played in the time of two, marked with a 3. Eighth-note triplets fit three notes into one beat instead of two.