## 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.