Notes and Note Values
Middle School Music
Measures
• As you know, a staff is the lines on which notes
are placed. A staff is made up of 5 lines and 4
spaces.
• When a staff is divided up into sections, each
section is called a measure.
• In regular time, each measure contains 4 beats.
The Whole Note
• Today we will be looking at three different notes.
• This is the whole note. It is worth 4 beats. That
means when it is placed in a measure, it takes up
all the beats.
The Half Note
• This is a half note. Like its name suggests, it is
worth half of the value of a whole note.
• A half note is worth 2 beats.
The Quarter Note
• This is a quarter note. Can you guess how many
beats a quarter note is worth?
• A quarter note is worth 1 beat.
Practice
• Can you make up 4 beats using these notes? Try
to find as many ways as possible to make up 4
beats using these three notes.
• Can you make up six beats using these three
notes?
• Can you make up eight beats using these three
notes?
The Eighth Note
• The next note we will be learning about is the
eighth note. An eighth note is worth half of the
value of a quarter note – ½ of a beat.
• The eighth note always has a flag or a “tail”.
Joined Notes
• It is common to see 2 eighth notes joined
together with a beam to make 1 beat.
Remember – no matter how many eighth notes
are joined together, each one is still worth ½ of a
beat.
Dotted Notes
• Whenever you see a note that has a dot next to
it, it means that you add half of the value of that
note to it.
• For example, here is a dotted half note. Since a
half note is worth 2 beats, how many beats is a
dotted half note worth?
Dotted Half Note
• A half note is worth 2 beats. Half of the value of
that is 1 beats.
• Therefore…
2+1=3
A dotted half note is worth 3 beats.
Dotted Quarter Note
• Can you figure out how many beats a dotted
quarter note would receive? Please write an
equation to determine the number of beats this
note gets.
Dotted Quarter Note
• A quarter note is worth 1 beat. Half of 1 is ½
beat.
• Therefore…
• 1+ ½ = 1½
• A dotted quarter note is worth 1½ beats.
Whole Rest
• Next, we will be learning about different rests
and what each rest is worth.
• First, we will be learning about the whole rest.
The whole rest is worth 4 beats.
• Can you remember which note is worth the
same as a whole rest?
Half Rest
• This is the half rest.
• Can you guess how many beats a half rest is
worth?
• A half rest if worth 2 beats.
• What note is worth the same amount?
Quarter Rest
• This is a quarter rest.
• It is worth 1 beat.
• Can you remember which note has the same
amount of beats as the quarter rest?
Eighth Rest
• This is an eighth rest.
• An eighth rest is worth ½ of a beat.
• Which note has an equal amount of beats as the
eighth rest?
Sixteenth Rest
• This is a sixteenth rest.
• Can you guess how many beats this rest would
be?
• A sixteenth rest is worth ¼ of a beat.
Practice
• Using the notes that we have learned so far, can
you think of different ways to make 2 beats?
More Practice
• Can you think of different ways to make 4 beats?
Stems
• Where notes are placed on the staff will
determine how the stem is drawn.
• If a note is lower than the middle line, the stem
is on the right side, going up. If the note is on the
middle line or higher, the stem is on the left side,
going down.