In this lesson we will look at 4 types of notes and the rests for each one.

The type of note tells us how long it is held. In the picture above, each note is twice as long as the next note. Notes get their name by how many it would take to last as long as a whole note, the longest note value in this picture.

We will look at the notes in order from longest to shortest.

Whole Notes

Whole notes have the longest note value of these notes.

We can remember how long notes last by their name. Because two halves make a whole, 2 half notes last as long as a whole note. It takes 4 quarters to make a whole, so 4 quarter notes last as long as a whole note. Therefore, whole notes are as long as the following note values:

Half Notes

Half notes are half as long as whole notes. Since quarter notes are half the length of half notes, 2 quarter notes last as long as one half note. Eighth notes are half the length of quarter notes, so we can play 4 eighth notes in the time of one half note.

Half notes are as long as the following notes:

Quarter notes

Quarter notes are half as long as half notes. We have seen that 4 quarter notes last as long as one whole note, and 2 quarter notes last as long as one half note. Quarter notes can be divided thus:

Eighth notes

We have seen above that 8 eighth notes are a long as a whole note, 4 eighth notes are as long as a half note, and 2 eighth notes are as long as a quarter note.

Rests

Rests are used to indicate a note is not played, and how long it is not played. This is how long each rest lasts:

We can substitute rests in any of the above diagrams to see how long they last:

To avoid writing multiple rests, they often condensed into the longer rest value. A composer may write a whole rest instead of 8 eighth rests, for example.

Practice: Download the free Note Lengths Worksheet:

Note Lengths Worksheet

Practice rhythm with whole notes, half notes, quarter notes, eighth notes, and rests

2 page worksheet + answer key

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Next: Learn how to read and count time signatures