Music Math Worksheets – Add Notes and Rests in Beats

All 24 sums on the diagram

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Add the notes 8

2 beats Count 1 + 1 = 2. A quarter note is 1, counted in beats of 4/4 time.
3 beats Count 1 + 2 = 3. A quarter note is 1 and a half note is 2, counted in beats of 4/4 time.
4 beats Count 2 + 2 = 4. A half note is 2, counted in beats of 4/4 time.
5 beats Count 4 + 1 = 5. A whole note is 4 and a quarter note is 1, counted in beats of 4/4 time.
1 beat Count ½ + ½ = 1. An eighth note is ½, counted in beats of 4/4 time.
4 beats Count 2 + 1 + 1 = 4. A half note is 2 and a quarter note is 1, counted in beats of 4/4 time.
6 beats Count 4 + 2 = 6. A whole note is 4 and a half note is 2, counted in beats of 4/4 time.
2 beats Count ½ + ½ + 1 = 2. An eighth note is ½ and a quarter note is 1, counted in beats of 4/4 time.

Rests, dots and take away 8

4 beats Count 3 + 1 = 4. A dotted half note is 3 and a quarter note is 1, counted in beats of 4/4 time.
2 beats Count 1½ + ½ = 2. A dotted quarter note is 1½ and an eighth note is ½, counted in beats of 4/4 time.
3 beats Count 2 + 1 = 3. A half note is 2 and a quarter rest is 1, counted in beats of 4/4 time.
2 beats Count 4 − 2 = 2. A whole note is 4 and a half note is 2, counted in beats of 4/4 time.
1 beat Count 2 − 1 = 1. A half note is 2 and a quarter note is 1, counted in beats of 4/4 time.
1 beat Count 3 − 2 = 1. A dotted half note is 3 and a half note is 2, counted in beats of 4/4 time.
1 and a half beats Count 1 + ½ = 1½. A quarter note is 1 and an eighth rest is ½, counted in beats of 4/4 time.
3 beats Count 1½ + 1½ = 3. A dotted quarter note is 1½, counted in beats of 4/4 time.

Which note makes four beats? 8

Half note The box needs 2 beats to reach 4. A half note is 2; a whole note is 4, so the box holds a half note.
Quarter note The box needs 1 beat to reach 4. A quarter note is 1; a whole note is 4, so the box holds a quarter note.
Quarter note The box needs 1 beat to reach 4. A dotted half note is 3; a whole note is 4, so the box holds a quarter note.
Dotted half note The box needs 3 beats to reach 4. A quarter note is 1; a whole note is 4, so the box holds a dotted half note.
Quarter note The box needs 1 beat to reach 4. A half note is 2 and a quarter note is 1; a whole note is 4, so the box holds a quarter note.
Half note The box needs 2 beats to reach 4. A quarter note is 1; a whole note is 4, so the box holds a half note.
Dotted half note The box needs 3 beats to reach 4. An eighth note is ½; a whole note is 4, so the box holds a dotted half note.
Half note The box needs 2 beats to reach 4. A dotted quarter note is 1½ and an eighth note is ½; a whole note is 4, so the box holds a half note.

How this list was compiled: How long each note and rest lasts and what a dot does (in 4/4 a whole note fills a whole measure of four beats, a half note two beats, a quarter note one beat; each value is half of the one before, so an eighth note is half a beat; a rest lasts as long as the note of the same name; a dot adds half of the note's own length): Robert Hutchinson, Music Theory for the 21st-Century Classroom, https://musictheory.pugetsound.edu/mt21c/DurationalSymbols.html and DotsAndTies.html (sections 4.2 and 4.3), read 2026-10-01; checked against Wikipedia, Note value and Dotted note, read 2026-10-01, and Karl W. Gehrkens, Music Notation and Terminology (1914, public domain), Project Gutenberg ebook 19499, sections 28 to 33 and 49, as read for note-values-chart on 2026-10-01. Every total was added by script from those values; nothing is copied from a published worksheet. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-10-01 from plain curves and lines, with the note and rest shapes of note-values-chart: own work. No font and nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

These music math worksheets write each sum in notes and rests. A quarter note counts 1 beat, a half note 2 and a whole note 4, as in 4/4 time. Work out what goes in each box, then print the sheet or answer on screen.

Read the full guide

Count in beats

Give each symbol its beats in 4/4 time: whole note 4, half note 2, quarter note 1, eighth note half a beat. A rest counts the same as the note it is named after. A dot adds half of the note's own value, so a dotted half note is 3.

Three kinds of sum

The top rows add notes. The middle rows bring in rests, dotted notes and taking away. In the bottom rows the box sits inside the sum, which equals a whole note: name the one note that fills it.

Print the worksheet

Press Print this worksheet for the numbered sheet with a line for each answer. Print the answer key lists every answer.

Say the count aloud as you point: one, two for a half note, then carry on counting through the next symbol.
In the bottom rows, count what is already there and ask how many more beats reach four.

Questions and answers

How many beats is each note worth?

In 4/4 time a whole note is 4 beats, a half note 2, a quarter note 1 and an eighth note half a beat. Each value is half of the one before it.

What does a dot after a note do?

It adds half of the note's own length. A half note is 2 beats, so a dotted half note is 3. A quarter note is 1 beat, so a dotted quarter note is 1 and a half.

Do rests count in the sums?

Yes. A rest is a silence that lasts as long as the note of the same name, so a quarter rest counts 1 beat and an eighth rest half a beat.

Is there an answer key?

Yes. Print the answer key gives the numbered sheet with every answer listed under it. On screen, Quiz yourself on this worksheet checks each sum as you answer.