Understanding Music Note Length

There are a variety of types of notes, each of which is held for a different length of time. The way a note appears shows how many beats it should last.

In most music:

	Whole notes last four beats.
	Half notes last two beats.
	Quarter notes last one beat.
Any note shorter than a quarter note has one or more "hooks" to indicate its length. Each hook cuts the note's length in half.
	Eighth notes (one hook) last one-half beat.
	Sixteenth notes (two hooks) last one-quarter beat.
These proceed on to thirty-second and sixty-fourth notes (with three and four hooks, respectively). If two or more notes requiring hooks appear in a row, they're often connected with "beams." The number of horizontal lines in a beam gives note length.
	Two eighth notes connected by a beam
Music also has rests, which indicate silent beats. Music rests are counted in the same way as music notes, and correspond to the notes they represent.
	Whole note rest
	Half note rest
	Quarter note rest
	Eighth note rest
	Sixteenth note rest
and etc...