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.