Reading Comprehension · Music Education
Note Values Lesson
A printable music worksheet on note values, rest values, and time signatures — the building blocks of written music notation.
Subject
Reading
Grade Level
Grades 3–7
Resource Type
Worksheet
Skill Focus
Music Education — Note Values, Rest Values, Time Signatures
Note Values
In music, notes are little pieces of sound. But not all notes last the same amount of time. Note value tells us how long a note will be held. We can tell the value of a note by how it looks on the page.
A whole note is an open oval and is held for four beats in common time. A half note is an open oval with a stem and is held for two beats. A quarter note is a filled-in oval with a stem and is held for one beat. An eighth note is a filled-in oval with a stem and a flag and is held for half a beat. A sixteenth note has two flags and is held for one quarter of a beat.
The relationship between note values is consistent: two half notes equal one whole note; two quarter notes equal one half note; two eighth notes equal one quarter note. Understanding these relationships is essential for reading and performing written music.
Rests and Time Signatures
Just as notes tell musicians when to play, rests tell musicians when to be silent. Every note value has a corresponding rest value. A whole rest (a filled rectangle hanging below a line) lasts four beats. A half rest (a filled rectangle sitting on top of a line) lasts two beats. A quarter rest, eighth rest, and sixteenth rest follow the same relative durations as their note counterparts.
A time signature appears at the beginning of a piece of music and tells you two things: how many beats are in each measure (the top number) and what kind of note gets one beat (the bottom number). In 4/4 time, there are four beats per measure and a quarter note gets one beat. In 3/4 time (waltz time), there are three beats per measure.
Reading note values and time signatures is a core skill for any music student. With these tools, students can understand written music notation, count rhythms accurately, and play or sing music that follows the composer’s intended timing.
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