NotePlayMusicNote & Rest Values Practice
Practise note and rest durations in crotchet beats, including dotted notes and silence in complete simple bars.
Count sounding and silent beats in a bar
In crotchet-beat time, a semibreve lasts four beats, a minim two, a crotchet one and a quaver half. A rest uses the same duration as its matching note but represents silence. Counting only the played notes will leave a complete bar mysteriously short.
A dot adds half of the original value. A dotted minim is therefore two beats plus one, or three crotchet beats; it is not two beats plus another two.
How to work it out
- When a question shows a complete simple-time bar, read the lower number to determine the beat unit; the notated bars here use crotchet beats.
- Convert each note and rest to beats, add the durations, then distinguish sounded beats from silent ones.
Worked example
A 3/4 bar has a minim rest followed by a crotchet. How much time is silent?
The minim rest fills two crotchet beats. The sounded crotchet fills the remaining beat, so two of the three beats are silent.
Watch for this mistake
A rest is not a gap outside the metre. Its duration counts towards the bar total even though nothing sounds.
Learning objectives
- Know how many crotchet beats a semibreve lasts.
- Compare the length of a minim, crotchet, and quaver.
- Count crotchet, minim, quaver, and semibreve rests in complete bars.
- Understand how a dot changes a note's value.
Worksheet
How many crotchets are there in a semibreve?
Answer: ______________________
How many crotchet beats does a minim last?
Answer: ______________________
How many quavers make up one crotchet beat?
Answer: ______________________
A dot placed after a note adds half of that note's original value.
Answer: ______________________
In this 4/4 bar, how many crotchet beats are silent?
Answer: ______________________
In this 3/4 bar, how many crotchet beats does the rest last?
Answer: ______________________
How much of one crotchet beat is the rest in this 2/4 bar?
Answer: ______________________
How many crotchet beats are silent in this complete 4/4 bar?
Answer: ______________________
How many crotchet beats are silent in this 3/4 bar?
Answer: ______________________
How many crotchet beats of silence are spread across this 2/4 bar?
Answer: ______________________
Answer Key
- 4 — A semibreve lasts for four crotchet beats.
- 2 — A minim lasts for two crotchet beats.
- 2 — Two quavers make up one crotchet beat.
- True — A dot adds half the note's original duration: a dotted minim lasts two plus one crotchet beats.
- One — The crotchet rest z lasts one crotchet beat; the other three beats are sounded.
- Two beats — The minim rest z2 lasts two crotchet beats; the final note takes the third.
- Half — The quaver rest z lasts half a crotchet beat, the same length as each note in this bar.
- Four — The semibreve rest fills this 4/4 bar with four crotchet beats of silence.
- One and a half beats — The quaver rest is half a crotchet beat and the crotchet rest is one beat: one and a half beats are silent.
- One beat — Two separate quaver rests each last half a crotchet beat; together they make one silent beat.
1. How many crotchets are there in a semibreve?
💡 A minim lasts two crotchet beats. Compare how many minims make one semibreve, then combine their beats.
2. How many crotchet beats does a minim last?
💡 Compare the minim with a row of crotchet pulses. Count how many pulses fit before the minim ends.
3. How many quavers make up one crotchet beat?
💡 A quaver lasts half of a crotchet beat. Put together enough half-beats to fill one beat.
4. A dot placed after a note adds half of that note's original value.
💡 Compare the duration of a plain minim with its dotted version. Find the extra beats, then compare that increase with the plain note.
5. In this 4/4 bar, how many crotchet beats are silent?
💡 Count only the rest, not the sounding notes. Compare the rest with the first note.
6. In this 3/4 bar, how many crotchet beats does the rest last?
💡 The note at the end occupies one beat of the three-beat bar. What remains for the rest?
7. How much of one crotchet beat is the rest in this 2/4 bar?
💡 The bar has four equal quaver positions. Two quavers make one crotchet beat.
8. How many crotchet beats are silent in this complete 4/4 bar?
💡 There are no sounding notes. Count all the crotchet beats in the 4/4 bar.
9. How many crotchet beats are silent in this 3/4 bar?
💡 There are two rests of different lengths. Add only their silent durations, not the played notes.
10. How many crotchet beats of silence are spread across this 2/4 bar?
💡 Find both rests, even though a note separates them. Each uses one quaver position; pair the silent positions.