Music Time!!!

Music Notes Music notes are what musicians read and play when performing music. They are called whole, half, quarter, and eighth notes. They all have different lengths.

Whole Note A whole note is the circle note with no stem or color in the circle. It’s length is 4 beats. It’s the longest note in 4/4 time. It can be played or sang on any line or space on the staff.

Half Note A half note is a note with a circle that is not colored in and a stem. It’s length is 2 beats. It’s the second longest note in 4/4 time. It can be played or sang on any line or space in the staff.

Quarter Note A quarter note is a note with a colored in circle and a stem. It’s length is 1 beat. It’s the third longest note in 4/4 time. It can be played or sang on any line or space in the staff.

Eighth Note A eighth note is a note with a colored in circle, stem, and a little line at the top of the stem. It is the shortest note at ½ a beat. It is the shortest note in 4/4 time. It can be played or sang on any line or space in the staff.

The Staff The Staff is what organizes all the notes in a piece of music. Before the 1400’s, music did not have a staff, only the names of the notes.

Grand Staff The Grand Staff is what brings together the treble and the bass clef in music. It is most commonly used in piano pieces and music scores.

Treble Clef The Treble Clef is used for higher sounding instruments. The names of the notes can be seen below. It is also called the G Clef because it is supposed to look like a fancy G!

Bass Clef The Bass Clef is used for lower sounding instruments. The names of the notes can be seen below. It was originally called the F Clef because it is supposed to look like a fancy F!

Bar Lines and Spaces The Bar Lines and Spaces in music tell us what note to play or sing. The names of the notes are different for Treble and Bass Clef, but there will always be five lines and four spaces!