Whole note(beats: 4 beats)A whole note has an open head and no stem. It lasts four beats in 4/4 time, a whole measure. British name: semibreve.
Whole rest(beats: 4 beats)A whole rest hangs under a line of the staff. It is a silence of four beats in 4/4 time. British name: semibreve rest.
Half note(beats: 2 beats)A half note has an open head and a stem. It lasts two beats in 4/4 time, half a measure. British name: minim.
Half rest(beats: 2 beats)A half rest sits on top of a line. It is a silence of two beats in 4/4 time. British name: minim rest.
Quarter note(beats: 1 beat)A quarter note has a filled head and a stem. It lasts one beat in 4/4 time. British name: crotchet.
Quarter rest(beats: 1 beat)A quarter rest is the zigzag sign. It is a silence of one beat in 4/4 time. British name: crotchet rest.
Eighth note(beats: Half a beat)An eighth note has a filled head, a stem and one flag. It lasts half a beat in 4/4 time, so two fill one beat. British name: quaver.
Eighth rest(beats: Half a beat)An eighth rest is a slanted stroke with one hook. It is a silence of half a beat in 4/4 time. British name: quaver rest.
Sixteenth note(beats: A quarter of a beat)A sixteenth note has a filled head, a stem and two flags. It lasts a quarter of a beat in 4/4 time, so four fill one beat. British name: semiquaver.
Sixteenth rest(beats: A quarter of a beat)A sixteenth rest is a slanted stroke with two hooks. It is a silence of a quarter of a beat in 4/4 time. British name: semiquaver rest.
Dotted half note(beats: 3 beats)A dot adds half of the note's own length. A half note of two beats plus one makes three beats in 4/4 time. British name: dotted minim.
Dotted quarter note(beats: 1 and a half beats)A dot adds half of the note's own length. A quarter note of one beat plus half a beat makes one and a half beats in 4/4 time. British name: dotted crotchet.
How this list was compiled: Names and shapes of the notes and rests in common use (whole-note: an open note-head without stem; half-note: open with stem; quarter-note: closed with stem; eighth-note: one hook; sixteenth-note: two hooks; the matching rests), the British names (semibreve, minim, crotchet, quaver, semiquaver) and the dot that makes a note half again as long: Karl W. Gehrkens, Music Notation and Terminology (1914, public domain), Project Gutenberg ebook 19499, sections 28 to 33 and 49, read 2026-10-01; checked against 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: in 4/4 a whole note fills a whole measure of four beats, a half note two beats, a quarter note a quarter of the measure; a dot adds half the duration), read 2026-10-01; and Wikipedia, Note value (each value half of the one before; British names), Whole note (the whole rest hangs under the second line from the top of the staff), Half note (the half rest sits on top of the middle line) and Dotted note, read 2026-10-01. Beats are stated for 4/4 time, where the quarter note is one beat. Licence: own work
The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-10-01 from plain curves and lines: notes, flags and rests are own work. No font and nothing traced. Licence: own work
How it works
A whole note splits into two half notes, four quarter notes, eight eighth notes and sixteen sixteenth notes. This chart draws that tree, with the matching rest beside each row and two dotted notes under it.
Read the full guide
Reading the chart
Each row lasts as long as the row above it: two half notes fill one whole note, and so on down. In 4/4 time a quarter note is one beat, so a whole note is four beats and a sixteenth note a quarter of a beat. A rest is a silence of the same length. A dot adds half of the note's own length.
Print it or quiz yourself
Press Print this chart for the chart with its names. Blank and Numbered turn it into a note values worksheet; the numbered one adds a line for each answer. Quiz yourself asks each name and then its beats. For a note value worksheet pdf, choose Save as PDF in the print box.
British names count when you type an answer: semibreve, minim, crotchet, quaver, semiquaver.
Questions and answers
How many beats is each note worth?
In 4/4 time a whole note lasts 4 beats, a half note 2, a quarter note 1, an eighth note half a beat and a sixteenth note a quarter of a beat. A dotted half lasts 3 and a dotted quarter one and a half.
What does a dot after a note mean?
It makes the note half again as long. A half note of two beats becomes three beats; a quarter note of one beat becomes one and a half.
How do you tell a whole rest from a half rest?
Both are small blocks. The whole rest hangs under its line and the half rest sits on top of its line.
Can I print it as a note duration worksheet?
Yes. Pick Blank or Numbered above the chart before you print: the names are left off for a pupil to fill in. Print the answer key gives the chart with every name. It doubles as a music note values worksheet for a rhythm lesson.