# Note values and rests

*Module 2 · Lesson 2: Rhythm I: pulse and note values · BazzLow*

> Know the basic note lengths, whole to eighth, and their rests.

Before this lesson: [2.1 Beat, tempo and BPM](https://bazzlow.com/en/rhythm-1/beat-tempo-bpm/)

The beat tells you when the pulse happens. **Note values** tell you how long each note lasts, measured against that pulse.

## Each value is half of the one before

Note values are **relative**: each one is half of the one before. In the most common case, a quarter note lasts one beat, so a half note lasts two and a whole note four. The English site uses the US names; the UK names are in the second column.

*The five note values with their rests. Lengths are counted in beats when the quarter note equals one beat.*

| Name | Also called | Beats (quarter note = 1) | Note | Rest |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| whole note | semibreve | 4 |  |  |
| half note | minim | 2 |  |  |
| quarter note | crotchet | 1 |  |  |
| eighth note | quaver | ½ |  |  |
| sixteenth note | semiquaver | ¼ |  |  |

The shape tells you the value: a whole note has an open head and no stem; a half note an open head with a stem; a quarter note a filled head with a stem. An eighth note adds one flag to the stem, and a sixteenth note two. Sixteenth notes are shown here for completeness and practised in Module 11.

## Rests

Every note value has a matching **rest**: a silence of the same length.

- whole rest: a block hanging from a line;
- half rest: a block sitting on a line;
- quarter rest: a zig-zag;
- eighth rest: one flag-like hook;
- sixteenth rest: two hooks.

> For a bassist, rests are as important as notes. Stopping a note at the right moment is part of the rhythm.

## The value tree

Here is one 4/4 bar divided in smaller and smaller values. Every row fills the same bar, so notes of different rows that line up start at the same moment.

> **Diagram:** One bar of 4/4 divided four ways: one whole note; two half notes; four quarter notes; eight eighth notes. Each row fills the same bar.

## Try it

At 80 BPM, on the open A string, play one bar of each: whole notes (one note held for 4 beats), half notes (2 per bar), quarter notes (4 per bar). Count “1 2 3 4” aloud while you play.

## New terms

- note value
- whole note
- half note
- quarter note
- eighth note
- sixteenth note
- rest

Page: https://bazzlow.com/en/rhythm-1/note-values-and-rests/