Note values explained for parents and kids: whole, half, quarter, and eighth notes

A note value is how long a note lasts. The shape of the note shows it. A whole note lasts four beats, a half note lasts two, and a quarter note lasts one. An eighth note lasts half a beat, and a sixteenth note lasts a quarter of a beat. Each note is half as long as the one before it.

Those counts hold when a quarter note gets one beat, which is the case in most beginner music.

How to tell the notes apart

A note has up to three parts. The round part is the notehead. The line that rises or falls from it is the stem. The small tail at the end of a stem is the flag.

Note	What it looks like	Beats
Whole note	An open oval with no stem	4
Half note	An open oval with a stem	2
Quarter note	A filled oval with a stem	1
Eighth note	A filled oval with a stem and one flag	Half a beat
Sixteenth note	A filled oval with a stem and two flags	A quarter of a beat

When two or more eighth notes sit side by side, their flags join into one thick line called a beam. Sixteenth notes join with two beams.

A stem can point up or down. The direction keeps the page tidy. It does not change the note.

How the notes fit together

One whole note is as long as two half notes. One half note is as long as two quarter notes. One quarter note is as long as two eighth notes. One eighth note is as long as two sixteenth notes.

So a bar with four beats can hold one whole note, or two half notes, or four quarter notes, or eight eighth notes. It can also hold a mix, as long as the beats add up to four.

Rests

A rest is a silence that lasts a set time. Each note value has a rest to match.

A whole rest is a small block that hangs below a line of the staff. A half rest is the same block sitting on top of a line. A quarter rest is a tall zigzag. An eighth rest is a slanted line with one small flag.

Children often rush through rests. Counting the rest out loud in a whisper helps.

Dots and ties

A dot after a note makes it longer by half of its own value. A dotted half note lasts three beats: two, plus one. A dotted quarter note lasts one and a half beats.

A tie is a curved line that joins two notes on the same line or space. The player holds the first note through the length of both and does not play the second one again.

The names used in the United Kingdom

British books and the ABRSM exams use a different set of names for the same notes. A whole note is a semibreve. A half note is a minim. A quarter note is a crotchet. An eighth note is a quaver. A sixteenth note is a semiquaver.

How teachers count them

Many teachers count the beats with numbers. Quarter notes are “one, two, three, four.” Eighth notes add the word “and” between the numbers: “one and two and.”

Teachers who follow the Kodály approach use spoken sounds in place of numbers. A quarter note is “ta.” A pair of eighth notes is “ti-ti.” A child can say a whole line of rhythm before knowing any note names.

Games to play at home

Clap and count. Set the metronome for kids to 60. Clap once for each click. Those are quarter notes. Then clap twice for each click. Those are eighth notes. Then clap once and hold your hands together for four clicks. That is a whole note.

Fruit rhythms. Say “pear” for a quarter note. Say “ap-ple” for two eighth notes. Say “wa-ter-mel-on” for four sixteenth notes. Make up a line, such as “pear, apple, pear, watermelon,” and clap it while you say it.

Walk the beat. Play a march. Step on each beat for quarter notes. Take one slow step for each two beats for half notes. Jog for eighth notes.

Draw four beats. Print big staff paper for kids. Draw bar lines to make boxes. Ask your child to fill each box with notes that add up to four beats, then clap what they wrote.

What comes next

Once the note values are clear, the next step is the two numbers at the start of the music. Read time signatures explained. For the full picture, go back to music theory for parents.