Basic Music Theory: How to Read, Write, and Understand Written Music

11: Where’s the Beat?

The Stem

Whole notes don’t have stems. Half notes and quarter notes do have

stems. So do eighth notes, but we’ll get to them later. The stem is the

part that sticks up or down from the note head.

Put Your Stems Up, Put Your Stems Down

The stem can go either up or down. When a note is on the third line

of the staff or below, the stems grow up from the right side of the

note head.

Putting the stem on the wrong side of the note head is one of the

most common mistakes made. Be sure your notes look like the

following:

Example 11.1 Half notes and quarter notes, 3rd line and below, with their stems up.

If the notes are on the third line or above, the stems go down on the

left side.

Example 11.2 Half notes and quarter notes, 3rd line and above, with their stems down.

Stems

Stem

Stem