The whole note value tree
One whole note, two halves, four quarters, eight eighths and sixteen sixteenths, drawn so that every row lasts exactly one bar. Switch the tree to rests with one tap.
Note Values Chart with Sound
Whole, half, quarter, eighth and sixteenth notes and rests: click a note value to hear and count it.
How to use the note values chart
No signup and nothing to install. It runs on a laptop, a tablet, a phone or the classroom screen.
- 01
Tap a row of the note value tree
From the whole note at the top to sixteenth notes at the bottom. You hear one bar of that value over a metronome click.
- 02
Count along and switch to rests
The counting line shows 1 & 2 & with every note start in white. Switch to rests, or add a dot to hear dotted rhythms.
- 03
Build your own rhythm
Add values to a 4/4 bar until it is full and loop it at any tempo. Then turn it into a drum beat in the beat maker.
A note values chart you can hear
Made for music students, beginners on any instrument and music teachers who explain rhythm on the projector.
Hear how long each value lasts
Every note sounds for its full length over a click, so a half note audibly lasts twice as long as a quarter. Rests take turns with notes, so you hear the silence.
Counting syllables and dotted notes
The counting line shows 1 e & a with every note start highlighted while it plays. Dotted halves, quarters and eighths come with the note that completes them.
Rhythm builder for practice
Fill a 4/4 bar with notes and rests, loop it from 50 to 140 BPM, or roll a random rhythm to clap and count. Finished rhythms go straight into the beat maker.
Note values at a glance
Every note value is half as long as the one above it. A whole note lasts four beats in 4/4 time, a half note two, a quarter note one, an eighth note half a beat and a sixteenth note a quarter of a beat. That is why a bar of 4/4 holds one whole note, two half notes, four quarter notes, eight eighth notes or sixteen sixteenth notes, which is exactly what the note value tree above shows row by row.
You can tell the values apart by three features: whether the note head is hollow or filled, whether it has a stem, and how many flags or beams it carries. The whole note is a hollow head with no stem. The half note adds a stem, the quarter note fills the head, the eighth note adds one flag and the sixteenth note two. When several eighth or sixteenth notes follow each other, the flags are usually joined into beams.
| Note value | Beats in 4/4 | Per 4/4 bar | British name |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whole note | 4 | 1 | Semibreve |
| Half note | 2 | 2 | Minim |
| Quarter note | 1 | 4 | Crotchet |
| Eighth note | ½ | 8 | Quaver |
| Sixteenth note | ¼ | 16 | Semiquaver |
| Dotted half note | 3 | 1 plus a quarter | Dotted minim |
| Dotted quarter note | 1½ | 2 plus a half | Dotted crotchet |
| Dotted eighth note | ¾ | 5 plus a sixteenth | Dotted quaver |
How to count rhythms
Counting turns note values into something you can say before you play it. In 4/4, count the beats as 1, 2, 3, 4. For eighth notes, add "and" halfway between the beats: 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &. For sixteenth notes, split every beat into four syllables: 1 e & a 2 e & a. A note starts on the syllable where it is written and lasts until the next note or rest begins.
Many classrooms also use rhythm syllables instead of numbers: ta for a quarter note, ti ti for two eighth notes, ta a for a half note and tika tika for four sixteenth notes. Both systems work. Numbers tell you where in the bar you are, syllables are easier for young children. Whichever you use, keep a steady pulse, like the click in this tool, and start slowly.
Rests and dotted notes
Every note value has a rest of the same length. A rest is not a pause in the music, it is part of the rhythm, and you keep counting through it. The whole rest hangs below a line, the half rest sits on top of it, the quarter rest looks like a zigzag and the eighth and sixteenth rests have one or two little flags. A whole rest is also used for any bar that is completely silent, whatever the time signature.
A dot after a note or rest makes it half as long again. A dotted half note lasts three beats, a dotted quarter note one and a half beats and a dotted eighth note three quarters of a beat. Dotted notes almost always come with the note that completes the beat: a dotted quarter plus an eighth is the rhythm at the start of many folk songs, and a dotted eighth plus a sixteenth gives the bouncy swing of a march.
Note values and time signatures
The time signature at the start of a piece tells you which note value counts as one beat. The bottom number names the value: 4 means quarter note, 8 means eighth note, 2 means half note. The top number says how many of them fit in one bar. So 4/4 has four quarter notes per bar, 3/4 three, and 6/8 has six eighth notes, felt as two groups of three.
The same note can therefore last a different number of counts. In 4/4 a half note lasts two beats, in 6/8 it would last four eighth note counts. Practise the values in 4/4 first, because almost all pop, rock and hip hop is written that way. When the values feel natural, set the metronome to 3/4 or 6/8 and count the same notes in a new metre.
For music teachers
Explain rhythm on the classroom screen
Put the note value tree on the projector, play a row and let your class clap and count along, with no login for you or your pupils. When your students are ready to make their own music, Make a Beat gives you a whole classroom: students join with a code and their name, no email addresses, and you set assignments, listen to what they hand in and grade it. GDPR, FERPA and COPPA ready, servers in Germany, and every school licence starts with a free trial.
Questions about note values
What are note values in music?
Note values tell you how long a note lasts. A whole note fills a bar of 4/4, a half note lasts half as long, a quarter note one beat, an eighth note half a beat and a sixteenth note a quarter of a beat. Each value is half of the one above it.
How many beats is a quarter note?
A quarter note is one beat in 4/4, 3/4 and 2/4 time, the time signatures where the quarter note carries the beat. Four quarter notes fill a bar of 4/4. In 6/8 time the eighth note is counted instead, so there a quarter note lasts two eighth note counts.
How many beats is a half note and a whole note?
A half note lasts two beats and a whole note lasts four beats in 4/4 time. Two half notes or one whole note fill a whole bar. A dotted half note lasts three beats, which is exactly one full bar of 3/4 time, as in a waltz.
How do you count eighth notes and sixteenth notes?
Count eighth notes as 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &, with the numbers on the beat and the "and" exactly halfway between. Sixteenth notes split each beat into four: 1 e & a 2 e & a. Say the syllables out loud with a steady click before you clap or play them.
What does a dot after a note mean?
A dot after a note makes it half as long again. A dotted half note is two plus one, so three beats. A dotted quarter note is one and a half beats and is usually followed by an eighth note, which together fill two beats. A dotted eighth note pairs with a sixteenth.
What is the difference between a whole rest and a half rest?
A whole rest hangs below a staff line and means a full bar of silence. A half rest sits on top of the line and lasts two beats in 4/4. A handy way to remember it: the half rest looks like a hat sitting on your head, the whole rest like a hole.
What are crotchets, quavers and minims?
They are the British names of the same note values. A semibreve is a whole note, a minim a half note, a crotchet a quarter note, a quaver an eighth note and a semiquaver a sixteenth note. The lengths are the same, only the names differ between British and American English.
Is this note values chart free?
Yes. The note value tree, the sound for every note and rest, the counting syllables and the rhythm builder are free, with no account and no download. It runs in any current browser on a laptop, a tablet, a phone or the classroom screen, and the sound is generated right in the browser.
From note values to your own beat
Open the beat maker with your rhythm on the kick drum, a snare on 2 and 4 and hi-hats on the eighth notes, then add bass and a melody.