Note Values & Rests

The eighth note, also called a quaver, is a musical note value lasting half the duration of a quarter note and equal to one‑eighth of a whole note, written with a filled notehead, stem and a single flag or as a beamed group.

A thirty-second note is a musical note whose duration is one thirty‑second of a whole note. It is written with a solid notehead and three flags (or three beams) and is used for very fast rhythmic passages.

A half note, also called a minim, is a musical note value lasting two beats in common time. It is written as an open (hollow) notehead with a stem and is a fundamental unit of rhythm in Western notation.

A note stem is the vertical line attached to a notehead that, together with flags or beams, indicates the note’s rhythmic value and orientation on the staff.

A flag is the curved line attached to a note stem that indicates a duration shorter than a quarter note. Flags appear on eighth notes, sixteenth notes, and smaller values, and their number determines the exact rhythmic length.

A rest is a musical notation symbol that indicates a period of silence for a specific duration, mirroring note values and essential for rhythm in all styles of Western music.

A note head is the oval-shaped symbol placed on a staff that indicates a musical pitch and, together with stems and flags, defines a note’s duration. It is the fundamental visual element of written music.

A tuplet is a group of notes whose combined duration differs from the normal metric division, allowing musicians to fit a different number of notes into a given beat or measure.

A beam is a horizontal line that joins the stems of two or more short‑duration notes, replacing individual flags and indicating rhythmic grouping in Western staff notation.

A triplet is a rhythmic grouping that fits three notes of a given value into the time normally occupied by two. It is a common type of tuplet used to create a sense of rhythmic subdivision across many musical styles.