Music note values in piano music explained
Are you eager to unravel the mysteries of music note values in piano music?
Whether you’re a beginner or an aspiring maestro, understanding note values is essential for reading and playing sheet music.
In this blog article, we’ll take a closer look at the various note values, their durations, and how they contribute to the rhythmic foundation of piano compositions.
Get ready to dive into the world of musical notation and enhance your piano-playing skills!
Why are music note values important?
They are your guide when playing music! Therefore, understanding music note values for piano music is invaluable to playing correctly, gracefully, and with style. With the help of proper knowledge of music note values, you know for how long to play each individual note.
Which music note values are used in piano music?
Not all notes are created equal.
What this means is that there are different types of notes, which are differentiated by their duration. In order to play musical pieces properly, it is necessary to use notes with varying durations, or else the playing would simply sound dull and uninteresting.
After all, it is not just the melody of a given piece that makes it interesting and fun to listen to, but also the rhythm with which different sequences are played. The way this works is by indicating the length of each note, which also is identifiable by its design.
In order to remember the different music note values, we have created the following list for you and included an example for all music note values:
Whole notes
Whole notes are notated as hollow ovals without a stem, and they cover an entire 4-beat measure.
Half notes
Half notes are notated as hollow ovals with a straight flagless stem and cover half of a whole note.
Quarter notes
Quarter notes are notated with a filled-in oval and a straight flagless stem and cover one-quarter of a whole note.
Eighth note
Eighth notes are notated with a filled-in oval, a straight stem, one beam or flag, and cover 1/8th of a whole note.
Sixteenth notes
Sixteenth notes (also called “semiquaver”) are notated with a filled-in oval, a straight stem, two beams or flags, and cover 1/16th of a whole note.
Thirty-second notes
Thirty-second (also called “demisemiquaver”) notes are notated with a filled-in oval, a straight stem, three flags or beams, and cover 1/32nd of a whole note.
Let’s for example look at Jarrod Radnich’s Lord of the Rings arrangement, in which we see the following:
Sixty-fourth notes
Sixty-fourth notes (also called “hemidemisemiquaver”) are notated with a filled-in oval, a straight stem, four beams or flags, and cover 1/64th of a whole note.
Hundred twenty-eighth notes
Hundred twenty-eighth notes (also called “semihemidemisemiquaver” or “quasihemidemisemiquaver”) are notated with a filled-in oval, a straight stem, five beams or flags, and cover 1/128th of a whole note.
Two hundred fifty-sixth notes
Hundred twenty-eighth notes (also called “demisemihemidemisemiquaver”) are notated with a filled-in oval, a straight stem, six beams or flags, and cover 1/256th of a whole note.
Five hundred twelfth notes & one thousand twenty-fourth notes
Five hundred twelfth notes (also called “hemidemisemihemidemisemiquaver”) are notated with a filled-in oval, a straight stem, seven beams or flags, and cover 1/512th of a whole note.
One thousand twenty fourth notes (also called “semihemidemisemihemidemisemiquaver”) are notated with a filled-in oval, a straight stem, eight beams or flags, and cover 1/1024th of a whole note.
512th notes = green
1024th notes = orange
- 512th notes = green
- The tone is heard immediately and does not sound overly crooked, as it for example does at the beginning of learning how to play the violin.
Even shorter notes
In theory, it is possible to notate even shorter notes, such as 2048th or 4096th notes, which would be notated with nine beams or flags, and, respectively 10 beams or flags.
Even shorter note values are theoretically possible, but they are not widely used and would likely end up being rather unplayable anyway, so no need to worry about them.
Conclusion
Congratulations! You’ve now reached the end of our journey through the world of music note values in piano music.
We hope this article has shed light on the importance of understanding note durations, as well as how they shape the rhythm and flow of a piece. Armed with this knowledge, you can confidently approach sheet music, decipher complex rhythms, and bring your piano playing to new heights.
Keep practicing, exploring, and enjoying the beauty of piano music!
