## Quarter Note

A quarter note is a filled-in note head with a stem, and it lasts one beat in common time.

This is the beat you tap your foot to in most music. Four of them fill a measure of 4/4, which is why that time signature is called common time.


## How To Spot Quarter Note

A solid black oval with a stem and no flag. If a note is filled in and has nothing hanging off the stem, it is a quarter note.


## Find It In Thirty Seconds

Tap a steady pulse and play the quarter notes in the first line of any piece, one per tap. If you have to rush to keep up, tap slower — the tempo is yours to choose while learning.

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.