Music · Rung 12 of 14

Note values and time

Pitch is given by position; duration by the shape of the note. Whole, half, quarter, eighth, sixteenth: each lasts half as long as the one before. The bar groups those beats and the time signature says it all: the top number, how many beats to a bar; the bottom one, which note value is worth a beat. A 3/4 is three quarter notes and sounds like a waltz; a 6/8 is six eighths grouped in threes and sounds like a barcarolle, though they last the same.

Where this sits

Comes after
The keyboard

Exercises from this rung

Generated by the app, from easiest to hardest

  1. Which time signature has four quarter notes to the bar, the commonest of all?

    • 4/4
    • 6/8
    • 2/4
    • 3/4

    Why 4/4: the top number says how many beats to a bar and the bottom one which note value is worth a beat.

    easier

  2. Which time signature has two quarter notes to the bar?

    • 3/4
    • 6/8
    • 4/4
    • 2/4

    Why 2/4: the top number says how many beats to a bar and the bottom one which note value is worth a beat.

    in between

  3. How many quarter-note beats does a half note last?

    • 2
    • 1
    • 4
    • 0.5

    Why A half note lasts 2. Each value lasts half the one before: whole, half, quarter, eighth, sixteenth.

    harder