Half Note
A half note is a hollow note head with a stem, and it lasts two beats in common time — half a whole note.
Hollow head means long; a stem halves it. That is the whole system: each added feature halves the value, from whole note to half to quarter to eighth.
How To Spot Half Note
An empty oval with a straight line coming off it. Compare it with a quarter note, which is the same shape filled in.
Find It In Thirty Seconds
Find a half note and a quarter note in the same piece and play them one after the other, counting "one-two" then "one". The difference should be obvious in your hand, not just on the page.
Open any piece of sheet music on this site and do it now. Reading is a recognition skill, and recognition is built by finding things, not by reading about them.
Related Topics...
How to Read Sheet Music: Learn how to read sheet music using interactive lessons from Chordzy. Or browse our various reading music topics.
Music Notation Glossary: Every symbol on a page of piano music, explained in one sentence each — clefs, note values, rests, accidentals, dynamics and repeat marks.
Dotted Note: A dot after a note head adds half of that note's value again. A dotted half note lasts three beats; a dotted quarter lasts one and a half.
Half Rest: A half rest is a small filled rectangle sitting on top of the middle line of the staff. It means two beats of silence in common time.
Quarter Note: A quarter note is a filled-in note head with a stem, and it lasts one beat in common time.
Whole Note: A whole note is a hollow note head with no stem, and it lasts four beats in common time — a full measure of 4/4.
More in This Section
Key Signature: The key signature is the group of sharps or flats just after the clef. It applies to every note of those letter names, in every octave, for the whole piece.