EMT Lesson One How to read music
EMT Lesson One How to read music
Music is made up of silence as well as sound. Sound is represented by notes and silence is represented by rests.
Figure 15. Rest symbols and values
| American / German note names | British note names | Rest symbols | Rest value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whole note | Semibreve |  |
4 beats |
| Half note | Minim |  |
2 beats |
| Quarter note | Crotchet |  |
1 beat |
| Eighth note | Quaver |  |
1/2 of a beat |
| Sixteenth note | Semiquaver |  |
1/4 of a beat |
| Thirty-second note | Demisemiquaver |  |
1/8 of a beat |
Very often a note, or rest, will last for a number of beats not covered by the tables above, such as, one and a half beats.
There are two ways of showing this in music – dotted notes and ties.
Next: Dotted notes
