Counting Whole, Half, and Quarter Notes

Hi! I'm Melody, and today we're going to unlock one of music's coolest secrets: different note shapes tell you exactly how long to hold a sound. First — what is a beat? A beat is one steady count, like a tick of a clock. When you tap your foot to a song, each tap is one beat. In the music we'll learn today, we count in groups of four — this is called 4/4 time, and it's the most common way music is counted. Think of it like this: four steady taps make one group, over and over. Think about pizza. A whole pizza is one complete circle. You can slice it into 2 halves, or into 4 quarters. Music works the same way! A WHOLE NOTE looks like an open (hollow) oval with no stem at all. In 4/4 time, it lasts for 4 beats — the full group. You count it like this: "1 — 2 — 3 — 4," holding the sound the entire time. It is the longest note we'll study. A HALF NOTE looks like an open (hollow) oval WITH a stem attached to it. That stem is what makes it different from the whole note — both have hollow ovals, but only the half note has a stem. It lasts for 2 beats: "1 — 2." Two half notes fill up the same space as one whole note. A QUARTER NOTE looks like a filled-in (solid black) oval with a stem. It lasts for just 1 beat. Four quarter notes fill up the same space as one whole note. It is the shortest of the three notes. Here's a chant to remember (for 4/4 time): "Whole gets four, half gets two, quarter gets one — that's the clue!" When you read rhythm, look at each note shape, assign its beat count, and tap or clap it out. Start slow — musicians always learn a new rhythm slowly first, then speed it up!