To notate rhythms on the staff, groups of beats are set apart from each
other by vertical lines called bar lines, drawn in front of the first beat of
each group. The spaces between the lines are called measures, or bars.
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Within the context of the meter, the duration of each individual pitch is
indicated by means of two sets of symbols: symbols for sounds (notes) and
symbols for silence (rests). The duration of notes and rests are most easily
understood in relation to the most common metric grouping, four beats in a
measure.
A note that occupies a whole measure of four beats is called a whole
note. It looks like an empty oval resting on its side. Its equivalent rest is
the whole rest, which is suspended from the fourth line of the staff.
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A note that lasts for half of a measure, or two beats, is called a half note.
The half note looks like a whole note but with the addition of a stem (a
vertical line) attached to the note head. If the pitch of the note is on the
middle line of the staff or above, the stem is attached to the left side of the
note head, pointing own. If the pitch of the note is below the middle line,
the stem is attached to the right side of the note head, pointing up. The
equivalent rest, the half rest, sits on the third line.
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A note that lasts for one fourth of a measure, or one beat, is called a
quarter note. The quarter note looks like a filled-in half note. The
equivalent rest, the quarter rest, is drawn as shown.
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