(RN) Note Values Lesson

Note Values

A note value is the length of time that a note is played and is called its note duration, which is determined by the type of note.

The whole note has the longest note duration in modern music.

The half note has half the duration of a whole note.

Two half notes occupy the same amount of time as one whole note.

The quarter note is a fourth (or a quarter) of a whole note.

Four quarter notes occupy the same amount of time as one whole note. Two quarter notes equal the duration of a half note.

Notes smaller in duration than a quarter note have flags. Each flag halves the value of a note.

An eighth note has one flag.

Therefore, two eighth notes occupy the same amount of time as one quarter note.

A sixteenth note has two flags, halving the value again.

Two sixteenth notes equal the duration of an eighth note.

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