Learn about Note Duration & its Various Types – Whole note, half-note, crotchet, quaver, semi-quaver.
To be able to read music and even to play any song correctly, you should be able to recognize the duration for which the various notes need to be played. For any song to sound good, you have to play the notes for the right number of beats and also pick them up on the correct beats.
Besides, there are not only notes that you will need to understand, there are also Rests, which you will need to recognize.
And why Rests?
It is because in any song, you will not find all the instruments playing together right from the beginning to the end of the song. There will be number of beats or bars where you will not be required to play anything, and this is identified by Rests.
It is not at all difficult to learn this concept since the duration depends on the type of the Note/Rest and each type has a fixed length. Besides, there is also a relationship among the various Notes as depicted in the chart below.
A similar chart exists for Rests as well. It would be a good idea to refer to the charts as you learn the various types of Notes/Rests.
Relationship – Duration of Notes
As mentioned earlier, the various Notes – Whole Note, Half Note, Crotchet, Quaver, and Semi-Quaver, share a relationship among themselves with respect to Time, which is as follows.
- Two Half notes equals one Whole note
- Four Quarter notes equals one Whole note. Put in another way, the Quarter note is one-fourth or a quarter of a Whole note
- Two Quarter notes equals one Half note
- Two Eighth note equals one Quarter note
- Two Sixteenth note equals one Eighth note
Whole Note (also Known As Breve)
When you start learning sight reading, some of the important symbols that you will need to recognize are the ones that tell you about the length of the notes to be played. A note may need to be played for a certain number of beats or it may need to be played for a fraction of a beat.
In this page let us look at the Whole Note, which is also known as Breve! Whole Note is the longest musical note in modern music! The other musical notes are named based on what fraction of the whole note they occupy in terms of time duration.
Lasts for 4 beats
Assuming the time signature is 4/4, a whole note will last for one complete bar. It is the equivalent of 4-quarter notes. So if you like to tap your foot while playing, remember to tap your foot for 4 consecutive beats while this note is pressed.
Cannot find in Waltz!
You cannot find this note in a 3/4 or waltz time. This is because in 3/4 time, every bar can contain notes equivalent to only 3-quarter notes, which is one short of what a Breve needs.
Half Note: How to Play
Here’s how to Play the Half Note, also Known As Semi-Breve!
We have already looked at the Whole Note and know it is the longest note, but then not all the notes in any song would need to be that long. Some of them may need to be played for a lesser number of beats. The Half note is one such note! This musical note is called a Half note because it is half of a Whole note in terms of time duration. It is also known as a Semi-Breve!
Lasts for 2 beats
As the name itself suggests, it is half in length compared to a Whole Note. So assuming the time signature is 4/4, a Semi-Breve will last for 2 beats of the bar. So in a bar, you can have a maximum of two Half Notes, provided the meter is 4/4.
How do you count?
A good way of making sure that you press a note for the right number of beats is by tapping your foot and counting the taps. So whenever you encounter this note while playing, remember to tap your foot for 2 consecutive beats while this note is pressed.
Crotchet - A Quarter Note
A Crotchet is also known as a Quarter Note and it is one of the most frequently used musical notes that you would encounter in written music. So get ready to learn and play these notes!
This musical note is called a quarter note because it has time duration of a quarter of a whole note. If you refer to the notes-relationship diagram, you will find that one Whole note equals four Crotchets. It is half in time when compared to a Half-Note!
Lasts for One beat
A Crotchet lasts for one beat! So assuming the time signature is 4/4, you can have four Quarter Notes in a bar, since every quarter note lasts for one beat. A ¾ meter on the other hand can have 3 Quarter Notes in a bar.
How do you count?
Counting this note is easy; you just need to tap once! So whenever you encounter this note while playing, remember to tap your foot for just one beat while this note is pressed.
Quaver – Eighth Notes
A Quaver is also known as an Eighth Note!
That is because it is a musical note which has time duration of an eighth of a whole note.
If you look at the notes-relationship diagram, you will find that it is half in time when compared to a Crotchet / Quarter note. Also notice that this note has one stem!
The Quaver is another frequently used note in any piece of music; you will need some practice to recognize and play these notes!
Two notes in One beat
Yes that’s correct! You can fit two Quavers in one beat. So assuming the time signature is 4/4, you can have eighth such notes in a bar. A ¾ meter on the other hand can have 6 Eight Notes in a bar.
How do you count?
Timing eighth notes while playing is not as straight forward as the other notes since you have two notes on every beat. In this case, while tapping your foot to count the beats, you need to count as 1-and, 2-and, 3-and, 4-and and play the eighth notes on either the number or the and.
Semi Quaver – Sixteenth Notes
Semi Quaver is a musical note which has a time duration of a sixteenth of a whole note.
For that reason, a semiquaver is also known as a sixteenth note.
If you refer to the notes-relationship diagram you will find that it is half in time when compared to an eight note. Notice the two stems for this note!
Four notes in one Quarter beat
You can fit four semiquavers in one quarter beat. So assuming the time signature is 4/4, you can have sixteen such notes in a bar. A 3/4 meter on the other hand can have twelve sixteenth notes in a bar.
How do you count?
Timing sixteenth notes takes practice and for that reason you will not find these notes in the beginner lessons. Since you can have four semi-quaver notes on every beat, while tapping your foot to count the beats, you need to count as 1-and-a-and, 2-and-a-and, 3-and-a-and, 4-and-a-and. Notice the four placeholders in every beat where you can fit in the ‘Semi Quaver’ (sixteenth notes)!
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