Notes and Note Values:

What is a note value?: Along with having a certain pitch, each note will have a certain length or duration is has to be played for. We use note values to allow for musicians to read the rhythm of the music. On the top left you can see what is known as a 'rhythm tree'. This is used to show how we divide note lengths up. We will now go over some of the common note values used in music along with their equivelent rests.

Semibreve: A semibreve is the equivalent of 4 whole beats/crotchets or one whole bar if we are in 4/4 (see Unit 1 Lesson 8).

Minim: A minim is half a semibreve or two beats.

Crotchet: Also known as a quarter note, it is standard note used to represent 1 'beat'. It is the equivalent of one semibreve or two minims.

Quaver: Also known as an eighth note, it is called this because when we are in 4/4 or common time, eight of them can fit into a bar. A quaver is shown as 1/2 a crotchet, so each crotchet is worth 2 quavers. When two or more quavers are played consecutively they are joined by a beam. They can be group in groups of 2s,3s,4s,5s, or even 6s depending on the time signature.

Semiquaver: A semiquaver is also known as a sixteenth note. It is 1/4 of a crotchet meaning that each crotchet is worth 4 semiquavers. Like quavers, semiquavers are joined together when 2 or more are played consecutively. Semiquavers look like quavers but have an additional 'flag' or tail.

Triplets: Triplets are slightly more complex as they can be applied to any of the notes above. They are meant to show the musician to play 3 notes in the space of two (see the example for details).

Example:

Here we have a short piece of music showcasing note values. You can clearly hear that as there are more note values in bar the notes get 'shorter' and the notes sound like they are played faster. However this doesn't mean that the tempo is changing it just means that more notes are being played in a bar. This example also showcases the important of note values. Without them musicians will be able to know the pitch of the note but they would be able to read the rhythm of the piece.

Rhythm.mov

Why do we need note values?:

Note values are important as they are key in how we build rhythm and timing in music. A musician must understand how long/short a note is played for in order to read, understand and play rhythms.