Notes and rests
Welcome to Grade 1 theory
Music theory is the grammar of music: how to read and write what a piece asks you to play. The Grade 1 exam is taken online, in seven sections, and marked out of 75. This course follows the sections in order, one unit each, and ends with a full mock paper:
- 1½ hours
- at most, online
- 75
- marks
- 7
- sections
- 15Section 1: Rhythm
- 15Section 2: Pitch
- 15Section 3: Keys and scales
- 10Section 4: Intervals
- 10Section 5: Tonic triads
- 5Section 6: Terms and signs
- 5Section 7: Music in context
Checked against the ABRSM syllabus and exam pages, 9 October 2026. Source: ABRSM Music Theory qualification specification.
You do not need to know anything to start. We begin with the sounds themselves: how long each note lasts.
Five note values
Each kind of note lasts a different length of time. We count them in beats, using the crotchet as one beat.
| Note | Beats (crotchets) | What it looks like |
|---|---|---|
| semibreve | 4 | an open note head with no stem |
| minim | 2 | an open note head with a stem |
| crotchet | 1 | a filled-in note head with a stem |
| quaver | a half | a crotchet with one tail (or one beam) |
| semiquaver | a quarter | a crotchet with two tails (or two beams) |
Each one is half the one before
Every note value is half the one before it. So:
- one semibreve lasts as long as two minims, or four crotchets;
- one minim lasts as long as two crotchets;
- one crotchet lasts as long as two quavers, or four semiquavers;
- one quaver lasts as long as two semiquavers.
Rests
A rest is a silence. Every note value has a rest of the same length:
- a semibreve rest hangs below a line;
- a minim rest sits on top of a line;
- a crotchet rest is a zigzag;
- a quaver rest has one hook, a semiquaver rest two.
Tip: the semibreve rest hangs like something heavy, and the minim rest sits like a hat. A whole bar of silence always uses the semibreve rest, whatever the time signature.
Dotted notes
A dot after a note makes it half as long again:
- a dotted minim is 2 + 1 = 3 beats;
- a dotted crotchet is 1 + a half = 1 and a half beats;
- a dotted quaver is a half + a quarter = three quarters of a beat.
This question is in Brainlag Plus