music guide

 
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Note Length

Notes are split in half and half again each time with the crotchet being the "standard" note of one beat in length. Below are the most common notes you will come across - all of them add up to 4 beats.

semibreve
1 semibreve (1 x 4 beats)

minim
minim
2 minims (2 x 2 beats)

crotchet
crotchet
crotchet
crotchet
4 crotchets (4 x 1 beats)

quaver
quaver
quaver
quaver
quaver
quaver
quaver
quaver
8 quavers (8 x 0.5 beats)

semiquaver
semiquaver
semiquaver
semiquaver
semiquaver
semiquaver
semiquaver
semiquaver
semiquaver
semiquaver
semiquaver
semiquaver
semiquaver
semiquaver
semiquaver
semiquaver
16 semi-quavers (16 x 0.25 beats)

This is all well and good but what if we need notes which are one-and-a-half beats long? We can indicate this is two ways.