Note Duration

Note values tell you how long notes last in relation to one another. A half note lasts twice as long as a quarter note. Their length in seconds depends on the tempo.

If the pitch positions are unfamiliar, begin with the staff and clefs.

The common note values

Scroll a diagram sideways if you cannot see its full width.

UK and US names describe the same values. The table’s final column assumes that one quarter note (crotchet) is one beat, as in a basic 4/4 count.

Each step down this table halves the duration. One whole note equals two half notes, four quarter notes, eight eighth notes or sixteen sixteenth notes. These ratios stay the same when the tempo changes.

A whole note fills a complete bar of 4/4. Other time signatures have different bar lengths, so the word “whole” does not mean a whole bar in every piece.

Noteheads, stems and flags

The whole note has an open notehead and no stem. A half note has an open notehead with a stem. Quarter notes and shorter values have filled noteheads.

An eighth note has one flag, a sixteenth note has two, a thirty-second note has three and a sixty-fourth note has four. Each additional flag halves the value again.

In groups of short notes, beams often replace flags. One beam corresponds to one flag, two beams to two flags, and so on. Beaming helps show rhythmic groupings; joining notes with beams does not add their durations into one sustained sound. A tie does that.

Beat unit and tempo

Before assigning beat counts, check the time signature. In 4/4 the usual beat is a quarter note. In 2/2 it is a half note, so a half note gets one beat and a quarter note gets half a beat. In compound metres such as 6/8, the main beat is usually a dotted quarter note.

A tempo marking also needs a note unit. “Quarter note = 60” means 60 quarter notes per minute: each lasts one second, and a half note lasts two seconds. At “quarter note = 120”, each quarter note lasts half a second and a half note lasts one second.

The note values keep their proportions in both examples. The tempo changes how quickly you play them.

Rests and a counting exercise

A rest marks a period of silence and has a rhythmic value, just as a note does. Include rests when adding up the duration of a bar.

With a quarter-note beat, count four steady beats aloud: “1, 2, 3, 4”. Clap on every number for quarter notes. For eighth notes, say “1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and” at the same underlying pulse and clap on each syllable. Each pair of eighth notes occupies one quarter-note beat.

To practise those values on guitar, use three counted rest-and-tie exercises. They give the exact pluck, hold and stop points, with answers to check your count.

Symbol reference and alternative names

The reference below includes some values beyond those a beginner usually needs. Maxima and longa are historical names; their use in early notation needs its own context. For very short values, fractional names avoid the less familiar extended British names.

Symbol	Name	UK name or note
	Maxima	Historical value, outside this lesson
	Longa	Historical value, outside this lesson
	Double whole note	Breve
	Whole note	Semibreve
	Half note	Minim
	Quarter note	Crotchet
	Eighth note	Quaver
	Sixteenth note	Semiquaver
	Thirty-second note	Demisemiquaver
	Sixty-fourth note	Hemidemisemiquaver
	128th note	Rare extended value
	256th note	Rare extended value

Further reading

The Open University’s guides to time values and beaming notes explain the basic symbols and groupings.