How long to hold a sheet music note

Understanding Music Note Length


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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 note illustration

Whole notes last four beats.

Half note illustration

Half notes last two beats.

Quarter note music illustration

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...

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After learning musical notation, you need to know how long to hold each note. Counting is a must when learning to read so be sure to learn the definition of music note length on a sheet. And the beat goes on!





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