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Learn to SightSing © Neil V. Hawes 2003
Note and rest lengths
Neil Hawes Home Page
NoteRestBritish nameUS nameLengthComments
BreveDouble whole noteTwo semibreves
or four minims
Quite rare nowadays
SemibreveWhole noteTwo minims
or four crotchets
The rest is also used to indicate
a whole bar rest, even if the bar
is not a semibreve long.
MinimHalf noteTwo crotchets
or four quavers
The semibreve rest hangs from the line,
the minim rest floats on the line (it is "lighter")
CrotchetQuarter noteTwo quavers
or half a minim
You might also see a crotchet rest written as:
QuaverEighth noteHalf a crotchetTwo or more can be beamed together:
SemiquaverSixteenth noteHalf a quaverTwo or more can be beamed together:
DemisemiquaverThirty-second noteHalf a
semiquaver
Two or more can be beamed together:
HemidemisemiquaverSixty-fourth noteHalf a
demisemiquaver
Two or more can be beamed together: