Music theory definition
Half note
A note that lasts two beats in 4/4 time. Tap once, then let it last through the next beat.
Learn it in context
This term is introduced in Unit 2: Rhythm. Work through the explanations and exercises to connect the definition with music.
- Feel the beat
The steady pulse underneath all music, and how fast it goes.
- Note values
Whole, half, quarter, eighth, and sixteenth notes.
- Bars and time signatures
How beats are grouped, and what 4/4, 3/4 and 6/8 mean.
Related music terms
- Rhythm
- The pattern of long sounds, short sounds, and silences in music. Try clapping the words of a song: that is its rhythm.
- Metronome
- A tool that makes evenly spaced clicks, helping you keep a steady beat. Change its speed to practise slower or faster.
- BPM
- Beats per minute: the number of steady clicks in one minute. At 60 BPM, there is one click every second.
- Count-in
- A few clicks before you begin, so you can hear the speed and get ready. In these exercises, listen to four clicks, then start on the next one.
- Quarter note
- A note that lasts one beat in 4/4 time. Tap once when it begins, then wait for the next beat.
- Whole note
- A note that lasts four beats in 4/4 time. It begins once and keeps going for all four counts.