Understand
Note and Rest Values, Dots and Ties
How long each note lasts, and how dots and ties change it.
Class code
W4QRThe family of values
Each value is worth twice the next one down.
- Semibreve (whole note) = 4 beats
- Minim (half note) = 2 beats
- Crotchet (quarter note) = 1 beat
- Quaver (eighth note) = half a beat
- Semiquaver (sixteenth note) = a quarter of a beat
Rests
Every note value has a matching rest of the same length. Silence is written just as carefully as sound.
Dots and ties
A dot after a note adds half its value again. A tie joins two notes of the same pitch into one longer sound, which is how you write lengths that cross a bar line.
Dotted crotchet = 1 + 1/2 = 1.5 beats. Minim tied to a crotchet = 3 beats.
Try it
Test yourself