Note value

Lore & Background

In the 13th century, Franco of Cologne invented different symbols for different durations, though the relation between note values could vary, with three being the most common ratio. Both black and white notation periodically used ligatures, a holdover from the clivis and porrectus neumes used in chant.

Reader's Guide

Note values are fundamental to Western music notation, providing a standardized way to represent the relative duration of sounds and silences. The system evolved from early Gregorian chant manuscripts, where note shapes likely did not indicate different durations, through the rhythmic modes of the 13th century, to the mensural notation of Franco of Cologne and Philippe de Vitry. Modifiers such as dots lengthen a note by half its value, and tuplets allow division into equal parts other than two. The British names for note values—such as breve, minim, crotchet, and quaver—reflect historical linguistic shifts, with crotchet named after the shape of the note from Old French for 'little hook.' The system's flexibility and historical depth make it essential for interpreting music from the medieval period to the present.

Did You Know?

• The vertical double dot, introduced by Willi Apel, is used in modern transcriptions of medieval and renaissance music to write a note worth nine beats in 9/8 or 9/4 meter.
• The longa or breve is sometimes used to indicate a very long note of indefinite duration, as at the end of a piece.
• Shorter notes can be created theoretically ad infinitum by adding further flags, but are very rare.