Half note

Two beats

The table on the page Rhythm shows the note values in 4/4: whole note four beats, half note two, quarter note one, eighth note half a beat. Every value has a rest of equal length with its own symbol: the half rest corresponds to the half note and lasts two beats. The page Rhythm Dictation sums up the proportions: a whole note lasts as long as two half notes, four quarter notes or eight eighth notes.

These ratios hold independently of tempo. The tempo only decides how long a beat is in seconds. When counting, the half note falls on a beat, for example “1”, and goes on sounding across the “2” until “3” brings the next note.

Dotted half note and tie

According to the page Rhythm a dot after a note lengthens it by half its value: a dotted half note therefore lasts three quarter notes, 2 + 1. A tie joins two notes of the same pitch into a single, longer duration, also across the barline. In 3/4 the dotted half note fills exactly one bar.

Half notes in the score

Piano

• Menuett B-Dur BWV Anh. 118, from the Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach · piano · 1 page

  In 3/4 a dotted half note fills a whole bar: the final bars of both parts, also under the volta brackets, carry such notes in the right hand.

In the minuet the dotted half note fills a bar each time. On the page Reading music every duration belongs to a head, a fill and a stem: the shape and fill of the head determine the duration.

Common mistakes

• Confusing half and quarter notes: The hollow note head means the longer duration, the filled one the shorter.
• Overlooking the dot: It lengthens the half note by one beat.
• Estimating the duration without counting: The two beats need an inner count, otherwise the note becomes too short.