M1 – Note Durations



Translatable Verbal Script:

Note duration.
The duration or length of each note, or how long it’s played, depends on the tempo or speed of the music, and not by seconds.
However, the division of each note in comparison to the whole, half, quarter, eighth, or sixteenth note is the same.

These are the most common note durations and their names.
Whole, half, quarter, eighth, and sixteenth.
Thirty-second and sixty-fourth notes are uncommon in popular music, but they do exist.

In 4/4 timing, which we’ll discuss later, there are 4 beats per measure and the quarter note is one beat.
Here, I’ll can’t the beat.
1,2,3,4
1,2,3,4
1,2,3,4
1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and
1 e and a, 2 e and a, 3 e and a, 4 e and a.
Here, I’ll count the beat while the female voice counts the duration of each note.
1,2,3,4
1,2,3,4
1,2,3,4
1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and
1 e and a, 2 e and a, 3 e and a, 4 e and a.

Rests, which are silent durations or pauses in music, are also of the same length and division.
In all tempos and time signatures, whole notes and whole rests count the same, half notes and half rests count the same, and so on.

These are the most common rest durations and their names. You’ll find a lot of these in popular music. Whole, Half, Quarter, Eighth and Sixteenth.

Let’s take a look at a chart that compares notes and rests and how many beats they get in a measure in 4/4 timing. Which again, is 4 beats per measure and the quarter represented by a 4 note gets the beat.
In 4/4 timing, the whole note lasts 4 beats per measure, the half note lasts 2 beats per measure, the quarter note receives 1 beat per measure, the eighth note lasts a half of a beat per measure, and the sixteenth note lasts a quarter of a beat per measure.

Closing:
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