Music theory games > Lessons > Duration of sounds > Note values

Note values

The anatomy of a note sign

Music notes have a pitch but also a duration. To determine the duration of a note, each note sign is composed of three distinct parts: The note-head, the stem (or tail) and the hook (or flag).

The note-head whose position on the stave actually sets its pitch, can be open (white) or closed (black).

The stem (or tail): If the stem points up from a note head, the stem start from the right side of the note, but if it points down, it start from the left. The stem support the hook and determine some note durations.

The hook (or flag) determine some note durations.

Note signs

Signs	Names
	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
	One hundred and twenty-eighth note Semihemidemisemiquaver

Note signs equivalences

For Americans :

One double-whole note is equivalent to two whole notes
One whole note is equivalent to two half notes
One half note is equivalent to two quarter notes
One quarter note is equivalent to two eighth notes
One eighth note is equivalent to two sixteenth notes
One sixteenth note is equivalent to two thirty-second notes
One thirty-second note is equivalent to two sixty-fourth notes
One sixty-fourth note is equivalent to two one hundred and twenty-eighth notes


For British :

One breve is equivalent to two semibreves
One semibreve is equivalent to two minims
One minim is equivalent to two crotchets
One crotchet is equivalent to two quavers
One quaver is equivalent to two semiquaves
One semiquaver is equivalent to two demisemiquavers
One demisemiquaver is equivalent to two hemidemisemiquavers
One hemidemisemiquaver is equivalent to two semihemidemisemiquavers

Note values tree

All notes values can be drawn on a tree:

Double-whole note / Breve

One Double-whole note is equivalent to 2 Whole note, or 4 Half note, or 8 Quarter note, or 16 Eighth note, or 32 Sixteenth note, or 64 Thirty-second note, or 128 Sixty-fourth note, or 256 One hundred and twenty-eighth note

One Breve is equivalent to 2 Semibreve, or 4 Minim, or 8 Crotchet, or 16 Semiquaver, or 32 Semiquaver, or 64 Demisemiquaver, or 128 Hemidemisemiquaver, or 256 Semihemidemisemiquaver

The double-whole note (Breve) has no stem and no flag.

Whole note / Semibreve

One Whole note is equivalent to 2 Half note, or 4 Quarter note, or 8 Eighth note, or 16 Sixteenth note, or 32 Thirty-second note, or 64 Sixty-fourth note, or 128 One hundred and twenty-eighth note

One Semibreve is equivalent to 2 Minim, or 4 Crotchet, or 8 Semiquaver, or 16 Semiquaver, or 32 Demisemiquaver, or 64 Hemidemisemiquaver, or 128 Semihemidemisemiquaver

The whole note (Semibreve) has no stem and no flag.

Half note / Minim

One Half note is equivalent to 2 Quarter note, or 4 Eighth note, or 8 Sixteenth note, or 16 Thirty-second note, or 32 Sixty-fourth note, or 64 One hundred and twenty-eighth note

One Minim is equivalent to 2 Crotchet, or 4 Semiquaver, or 8 Semiquaver, or 16 Demisemiquaver, or 32 Hemidemisemiquaver, or 64 Semihemidemisemiquaver

Quarter note / Crotchet

One Quarter note is equivalent to 2 Eighth note, or 4 Sixteenth note, or 8 Thirty-second note, or 16 Sixty-fourth note, or 32 One hundred and twenty-eighth note

One Crotchet is equivalent to 2 Semiquaver, or 4 Semiquaver, or 8 Demisemiquaver, or 16 Hemidemisemiquaver, or 32 Semihemidemisemiquaver

Eighth note / Quaver

One Eighth note is equivalent to 2 Sixteenth note, or 4 Thirty-second note, or 8 Sixty-fourth note, or 16 One hundred and twenty-eighth note

One Quaver is equivalent to 2 Semiquaver, or 4 Demisemiquaver, or 8 Hemidemisemiquaver, or 16 Semihemidemisemiquaver

The eighth note (quaver) has only 1 flag (hook), and when there are several eighth notes (quavers) that follow each other than we can write like this:

Sixteenth note / Semiquaver

One Sixteenth note is equivalent to 2 Thirty-second note, or 4 Sixty-fourth note, or 8 One hundred and twenty-eighth note

One Semiquaver is equivalent to 2 Demisemiquaver, or 4 Hemidemisemiquaver, or 8 Semihemidemisemiquaver

The sixteenth note (semiquaver) has 2 flags (hooks), and when there are several sixteenth notes (semiquavers) that follow each other than we can write like this:

Thirty-second note / Demisemiquaver

One Thirty-second note is equivalent to 2 Sixty-fourth note, or 4 One hundred and twenty-eighth note

One Demisemiquaver is equivalent to 2 Hemidemisemiquaver, or 4 Semihemidemisemiquaver

The thirty-second note (demisemiquaver) has 3 flags (hooks), and when there are several thirty-second notes (demisemiquavers) that follow each other than we can write like this:

Sixty-fourth note / Hemidemisemiquaver

One Sixty-fourth note is equivalent to 2 One hundred and twenty-eighth note

One Hemidemisemiquaver is equivalent to 2 Semihemidemisemiquaver

The sixty-fourth note (hemidemisemiquaver) has 4 flags (hooks), and when there are several sixty-fourth notes (hemidemisemiquavers) that follow each other than we can write like this:

One hundred and twenty-eighth note / Semihemidemisemiquaver

The one hundred and twenty-eighth note (semihemidemisemiquaver) has 5 flag (hook), and when there are several one hundred and twenty-eighth notes (semihemidemisemiquavers) that follow each other than we can write like this:

Stems orientation

Stems can point up or down:

If the stem points up from a note head, the stem start from the right side of the note, but if it points down, it start from the left. For the sound of the note and for its duration, the orientation of stems has no importance.

We prefer this:



to this:




In the example below, all notes are sounding the same (same duration, same pitch)




Sometimes, orientations of stems are used to indicate the separation of the voices:

Beams

A beam is a horizontal or diagonal line used to connect consecutive notes. Most of the time, note are grouped by beat and only eighth notes (quavers) or shorter can be beamed.

In the example below, the two staves produce exactly the same sounds and the same rhythms.

Abbreviations used for notation of beams

Abbreviations can be used for notation of beams:

Empty spaces between notes

Space between notes don't change the rhythms or the duration of the notes: