Definition
Note values indicate the relative duration of sounds, rests the relative duration of silences. The system is binary: each value is worth half the previous one. The absolute duration in seconds depends on the tempo (BPM) and the meter.
The note values (Italian name, American and British English)
| Note | Value (quarter note = 1) | US English | UK English | Duration at 120 BPM |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Breve | 8 | double whole | breve | 4000 ms |
| Semibreve | 4 | whole | semibreve | 2000 ms |
| Minima | 2 | half | minim | 1000 ms |
| Semiminima | 1 | quarter | crotchet | 500 ms |
| Croma | 1/2 | eighth | quaver | 250 ms |
| Semicroma | 1/4 | sixteenth | semiquaver | 125 ms |
| Biscroma | 1/8 | thirty-second | demisemiquaver | 62.5 ms |
| Semibiscroma | 1/16 | sixty-fourth | hemidemisemiquaver | 31.25 ms |
Useful formula for delay and sidechain: quarter-note duration in ms = 60000 / BPM. At 128 BPM: quarter note 468.75 ms, eighth note 234.4 ms, sixteenth note 117.2 ms.
Anatomy of a note
- Head: hollow (whole, half) or filled (quarter and shorter).
- Stem: absent on the whole note.
- Flags: one for the eighth note, two for the sixteenth, three for the thirty-second.
- Beams: replace flags when several short notes are grouped. Group by beat, so the pulse remains visible: in 4/4 eighth notes are beamed in groups of 2 or 4 (without crossing the middle of the bar); in 6/8 they are beamed in groups of 3.
Rests
- Whole rest: a rectangle hanging from line 4. By convention it also indicates a full bar of silence in any meter (3/4, 6/8…).
- Half rest: a rectangle sitting on line 3.
- Quarter rest: a zig-zag sign.
- Eighth, sixteenth, thirty-second rests: with 1, 2, 3 hooks.
- Multi-measure rests: several bars of silence are written with a horizontal bar and the number above (e.g. 16), typical of orchestral parts.
Writing rules (rhythmic clarity)
- In 4/4 always keep the middle of the bar visible: a half note starting on beat 2 is written as a quarter note tied to a quarter note.
- In compound meters (6/8, 12/8) the beat is the dotted quarter: rests are written so as to show the groups of three eighth notes.
- Short syncopations (eighth–quarter–eighth) can be written without a tie only if the structure of the beat stays readable.
Actual duration, articulation, and the DAW
The note value indicates the nominal duration: staccato playing shortens the sound, legato extends it to the next note. In FL Studio's Piano roll one step is a sixteenth note in 4/4: 4 steps = quarter note, 16 steps = whole note. The length of MIDI notes directly affects the synth's gate: notes that are too long muddy bass and kick, notes that are too short make the groove nervous.
Example in a song
The bass line of “Billie Jean” (Michael Jackson, about 117 BPM) is made of regular, rather detached eighth notes: the continuous pulse comes precisely from the regularity of the eighth notes, while the kick and snare on 2 and 4 define the movement. House's “four on the floor” is a succession of quarter-note kicks: at 124 BPM each hit lasts 483.9 ms, which is also the starting point for the sidechain release.
Exercise
- Calculate the eighth note, sixteenth note, and dotted eighth note at 90, 120, 140, and 174 BPM and set them as delay times.
- Transcribe by hand two bars of drums from one of your beats using note values and rests: check that you have respected the grouping by beat.
- Program the same melody with notes at 100% and at 50% of their value: listen to the difference in groove.
Links
Dots, Double Dots, Ties, and Irregular Groups; Simple and Compound Meter; Articulations; Groove, Swing, and Microtiming.