You can have a dot after any note value however, beginners will see the dotted half note and dotted quarter note in sheet music notation most frequently. So the length of a dotted quarter note is one and a half beats: 1+.5=1.5. The dot indicates you add half the value of the note, which is half a beat, equivalent to an eighth note. Use the same logic to figure out the length of a dotted quarter note, pictured to the right of the dotted half note. Therefore, the length of a dotted half note is three beats: 2+1=3. Half the value of a half note is one beat. ![]() The dot indicates you add half the value of the note. Take a look at the half note followed by a dot in the image above. When you see a dot after any note value, it means you need to add one-half the value of that note’s duration. The eighth note and sixteenth note groupings in the example above are both equal in length to one quarter note. It is common to see sixteenth notes grouped in pairs, which is equal in value to one eighth note, or grouped in sets of four as seen above, which is equal in value to one quarter note. It is common to see as many as four eighth notes grouped together.īecause sixteenth notes have two flags when written individually, they have two beams when grouped together. In the image shown above, there are two eighth notes grouped together, which is equal in value to one quarter note. The number of beams is the same as the number of flags on a note. Beamed 8th and 16th NotesĪ beam is a horizontal or diagonal line used to connect multiple consecutive notes, indicating a rhythmic grouping. For example, three flags indicates a 32nd note and four flags indicates a 64th note. For every additional flag or hook, you halve the value of the note or rest. However, it has two hooks instead of one. The sixteenth rest, pictured to the right of the sixteenth note, looks very similar to the eighth rest. It is represented by a black note head with a stem and two flags extending from the stem. The sixteenth note is one-sixteenth the value of a whole note, one-quarter the value of a quarter note and one-half the value of an eighth note. The symbol for the eighth rest is pictured to the right of the eighth note and is equal to half a beat of silence. In 4/4 time, it is equal to half of one beat. It is represented by a black note head with a stem and a flag (the tail-like figure that extends from the stem). The eighth note is – you guessed it – one-eighth the value of a whole note or one-half the value of a quarter note. It indicates silence for one beat, the same duration as the quarter note. In the image above, the symbol for the quarter rest is pictured to the right of the quarter note. It is represented by a black note head with a stem. The quarter note is one-quarter the value of a whole note or one-half the value of a half note. It indicates silence for two beats, the same duration as the half note. The half rest is represented by a black rectangle that sits on top of the third line of the staff. In 4/4 time, the half note is equal to two beats. It is represented by a hollow note head with a stem (the line that extends from the note head). The half note is named as such because it is equal in length to half a whole note. It indicates silence for four beats, the same duration as a whole note. The whole rest, notated to the right of the image above, is symbolized by a black rectangle that hangs below the fourth line of the staff (lines and spaces are counted from the bottom to the top). Most other note values are fractions of the whole note. The whole note is equal to four beats in 4/4 time (see time signature below). ![]() The whole note is represented by a hollow note head (white center, black frame) and no stem or flags. Each type of note value also has a companion symbol, called a rest, that tells the player not to play for the same duration as the note value. In sheet music notation, the note value or relative duration of a note is indicated by three basic components: the color of the note head, the presence or absence of a stem, and the presence or absence of flags or beams. Some of this may be a review for you, if you have checked out our list of basic musical symbols resource. Now, we will dive into teaching how to read rhythm. If you haven’t checked it out, it will be helpful for you to read it. In a previous article, we taught you how to read music notes. That is why rhythm is so essential to the musical language. I don’t mean with the wrong rhythm I mean completely without any duration or strong and weak beats. Try this: without singing, clap the rhythm of “Happy Birthday.” I bet you could ask someone what you are clapping and they would be able to guess “Happy Birthday.” Now try singing “Happy Birthday” without rhythm. Rhythm is one of the most important elements of the musical language, arguably even more so than melody and harmony.
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