Types of Notes

While pitch is indicated by the vertical position of a note on a staff, the duration of a note is indicated by how the note is drawn.

Here are the most common types of notes:

Whole Note
Half Note
Quarter Note
Eighth Note
Sixteenth Note

When eighth notes and sixteenth notes occur in groups, they are usually joined together with a beam.

The relative values of these notes are indicated by the note name:  A half note is held for half the number of beats as a whole note; a quarter note receives a quarter of the number of beats that a whole note receives, etc.  The relationship between note types may be illustrated in the following chart:

Another way to think of this is as follows:   Two half notes make up a whole note; two quarter notes make up one half; two eighth notes make up one quarter note; and two sixteenth notes equal one eighth note.