Meaning & use
quarter note
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Meaning
nouncountablemusic
A musical note that lasts one beat in common time, a quarter as long as a whole note.
Grammar: Countable, and written with a filled-in head and a stem.
Patterns
- a quarter note rest
The drummer tapped out a steady quarter note on the hi-hat.
In four-four time, each bar holds four quarter notes.
The melody begins with a quarter note followed by two eighth notes.
Word forms
| plural | quarter notes |
|---|
Common combinations
- quarter note rest
- The score has a quarter note rest in bar two.
- play a quarter note
- Play a quarter note on each beat.
- dotted quarter note
- A dotted quarter note lasts one and a half beats.
- quarter note triplet
- The composer wrote a quarter note triplet across two beats.
- count in quarter notes
- Beginners should count in quarter notes.
Synonyms and how they differ
- crotchet
- Crotchet is the British name for the same note, which Americans call a quarter note.
Word family
Commonly confused: quarter note or quarter rest? quarter note or eighth note?
quarter note vs quarter rest
A quarter rest is a silence lasting the same length as a quarter note, not a sound.
quarter note vs eighth note
An eighth note is half as long as a quarter note, so there are two in each beat.
Practice
In four-four time, how many quarter notes fit in one bar?
Choose one answer.
Four-four time has four beats per bar, and each quarter note takes one beat. Eight would be eighth notes.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “quarter note”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.