Note Values and Rests: Names, Durations and Chart

Note values are the symbols that show the duration of musical sounds. The position of a note on the staff shows its pitch (how high or low it is), and the note value shows how long it lasts. There are seven note values, and each one is worth exactly half of the one before it.

What is a note value?

A note value is the shape of the note: whether its head is hollow or filled, whether it has a stem (the vertical line) and whether it has flags or beams. These three features show its duration. Every note value also has a matching rest of the same length. The pitch of the note and its note value together define each written note completely.

The 7 note values and their durations

The length of a note value is relative: each one is worth twice the next one, whatever the time signature. To give concrete numbers, we use a 4/4 measure (UK: bar) as the example. In 4/4 the quarter note (UK: crotchet) is the beat (1 beat). Here are the seven note values from longest to shortest. The American names are used on this page; the UK names are in the second column.

Note	UK name	Duration	Equals
Whole note	semibreve	4 beats	2 half notes
Half note	minim	2 beats	2 quarter notes
Quarter note	crotchet	1 beat	2 eighth notes
Eighth note	quaver	½ beat	2 sixteenth notes
Sixteenth note	semiquaver	¼ beat	2 thirty-second notes
Thirty-second note	demisemiquaver	⅛ beat	2 sixty-fourth notes
Sixty-fourth note	hemidemisemiquaver	1/16 beat	—

These numbers apply to time signatures where the quarter note gets the beat (4/4, 3/4, 2/4…). If the beat unit is different, the value of one beat changes. In cut time (2/2, also called alla breve), where the half note gets the beat, the half note is worth 1 beat and the whole note 2. What never changes is the proportion between note values: a whole note is always equal to two half notes.

Equivalences between note values

Because each note value is worth twice the next one, they are all related by simple proportions. Starting from the whole note:

1 whole note = 2 half notes = 4 quarter notes = 8 eighth notes = 16 sixteenth notes = 32 thirty-second notes = 64 sixty-fourth notes

That is why a 4/4 measure (four quarter-note beats) can hold one whole note, or two half notes, or four quarter notes, or any combination that adds up to four beats.

Rests

A rest is a silence of a set length. Every note value has a rest that lasts exactly the same time:

Rest	Symbol	Duration
Whole rest		4 beats
Half rest		2 beats
Quarter rest		1 beat
Eighth rest		½ beat
Sixteenth rest		¼ beat
Thirty-second rest		⅛ beat
Sixty-fourth rest		1/16 beat

The dot

A dot is a point placed to the right of a note and it lengthens the note by half of its value. Any note value, and any rest, can have a dot: a dotted quarter note, for example, lasts 1.5 beats. More about the dot and the double dot →

Dotted quarter note on the staff — Dotted quarter note = 1.5 beats (quarter note + eighth note).

The tie

A tie joins two notes of the same pitch and adds their durations into one sustained sound (it is used, for example, to hold a note across the bar line). It should not be confused with a slur (legato mark), which joins notes of different pitches. More about ties and slurs →

Tuplets

Sometimes a beat is divided into a number of notes that does not fit the usual division: three eighth notes in the space of two (the triplet), two in the space of three (the duplet), and the same idea with the quadruplet, quintuplet and sextuplet. These are tuplets (irregular groups), which briefly change the normal division of a note value. More about tuplets →

Note value exercises

To practice what is explained here, try the note value and rhythm exercises with instant feedback and PDF worksheets: identify notes and rests, equivalences between note values, the value of notes in each time signature and adding up the notes in a measure. To recognize them by ear, try rhythmic dictation, organized by note value: from the quarter note and its rest to the whole note and groups of two eighth notes.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are note values?

Note values are the symbols that show how long a sound lasts. Each one tells you how long a note is held. Combined with pitch (its position on the staff), they define each written note completely.

What are the 7 note values?

From longest to shortest: whole note, half note, quarter note, eighth note, sixteenth note, thirty-second note and sixty-fourth note. Each lasts half as long as the one before: a half note is worth half a whole note, a quarter note half a half note, and so on.

How long does each note value last?

In a time signature where the quarter note gets the beat (such as 4/4), a whole note lasts 4 beats, a half note 2, a quarter note 1, an eighth note half a beat, a sixteenth note a quarter, a thirty-second note an eighth and a sixty-fourth note a sixteenth. In other time signatures the beat unit changes (in 2/2 the half note gets the beat), but the proportion between note values stays the same. A whole note equals 2 half notes, 4 quarter notes, 8 eighth notes, 16 sixteenth notes, 32 thirty-second notes or 64 sixty-fourth notes.

What is a rest in music?

A rest is a silence of a set length. Every note value has a rest that lasts the same time: whole rest, half rest, quarter rest, eighth rest, sixteenth rest, thirty-second rest and sixty-fourth rest.

What does a dot do to a note?

A dot placed to the right of a note lengthens it by half of its value. A dotted quarter note lasts a quarter note and a half (1.5 beats), the same as a quarter note plus an eighth note.