"The Quarter Note Has
One Solid Reputation!"

A quarter note typically gets one beat in music - that's half of what a half note gets (two beats) and one fourth of what a whole note gets. Pretty simple?

You could actually use the analogy of a dollar bill when considering these three values. A dollar can be broken into two half dollars or four quarters. That certainly makes cents, you agree? (oooooops, "sense")

By the way, it's easy to recognize - it simply looks like a half note with its head being a solid color :

If you are playing a song that gets four beats to the measure, it would, of course, occupy one fourth of the time in that measure - four of them would complete it.

When considering playing four beats to a measure, and thinking

in terms of the three values mentioned above, a measure could consist of the following notes:

* one whole

* two half

* four quarter

or

* a combination of the last two that adds up to four beats

Easy enough.

Go to your piano or keyboard and count yourself in for a measure or two to get started... then play four of these per measure for a couple of measures:

Play around with this for a little while, changing the keys you play. Make it interesting. In the process, you're likely to come up with a nice sounding melody or two! Hey, that's what it's all about - learn a little, apply it, have fun with it.

Looks like you're doing great with your understanding of values and timing! Let's continue on together, as we discover more and more about this wonderful language of music.

Return from Quarter Note to Piano Theory

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