The Happy Musician

Music is a language, and to understand it, you must be familiar with the terms used in it. This chart (see below image) shows the basic music notes you need to know based on 4/4 time signature (more on that in a later post). Let’s start by defining each note and what they mean when seen in a piece of music.

Whole note: The longest note shown in the above image. When we say “long,” we mean the duration of the note, or how long it is held out in a given piece of music. In 4/4 time, the whole note gets four beats. If you counted from one to four, that is how long it would take you to hold out a whole note, depending on the tempo or beat (more on that soon).

Half note: The second longest note shown above. In 4/4 time, it gets two beats. It is equal to one whole note, since two halves equal a whole. If you counted to two twice, that would be the equivalent of one whole note. Two half notes are just one whole note divided into two equal parts.

Quarter note: A quarter note is one fourth of a whole note. If you said “one” four times in a row on a beat, that would be the equivalent of a whole note. Four quarter notes are just a whole note divided into four equal parts.

Eighth note: This is where things get tricky. We will touch more on these in a later post, but all you need to know now is that an eighth note is half of a quarter note. Think of the whole note as the number one. An eighth note is exactly what it hints: an eighth of the whole note, or 1/8 of 1.

Sixteenth note: Similar to the eighth note, the sixteenth note is half of the eighth note, or a quarter of a quarter note! More on that in a later post.

How to count notes in 4/4 – Any number or syllable in parentheses is not said aloud. Patterns may vary according to time signature.

Quarter note: 1, 2, 3, 4

Half note: 1-(2), 3-(4)

Whole note: 1-(2, 3, 4)

Eighth note: 1&, 2&, 3&, 4&

Sixteenth note: 1e&a, 2e&a, 3e&a, 4e&a

I hope you learned something new or expanded your knowledge on what you already know. If you are still confused, send me an email or a comment and let me know what you need clarification on. Bye for now!

Post photo by Pinterest

Cover photo by Cottonbro Studio