Related
Notating rhythm covered the principle (proportions, not seconds); this entry covers the practical reading and writing of the symbols themselves.
The chain of values: each flag halves it
| Symbol | Name | Relative to a whole | Written as |
|---|---|---|---|
| ○ | whole | 1 | hollow head only |
| ○ + stem | half | 1/2 | hollow head plus stem |
| ● + stem | quarter | 1/4 | filled head plus stem |
| ● + 1 flag | eighth | 1/8 | plus one flag |
| ● + 2 flags | sixteenth | 1/16 | plus two |
| + 3 flags | thirty-second | 1/32 | plus three |
The whole table is one action repeated — remembering "more flags, shorter note" is enough.
Three practical points, commonly overlooked
1. Stem direction follows the note head. A head on or above the third line takes a downward stem; below it, an upward stem. The purpose is keeping stems inside the staff and reducing visual clutter.
2. Adjacent short notes are joined by beams, grouped by beat.
This is the most important one:
| Notation | What reading it is like |
|---|---|
| eight eighths each with its own flag | no visible beat grouping; the reader must count |
| beamed into four groups of two | "two notes per beat" is visible at a glance |
So beaming is not just economy — it draws the beats. It is why the same notes beamed differently are much harder or easier to read: the notator is telling the reader where the beats fall.
3. A dot lengthens a note by half its own value.
| Notation | Equals |
|---|---|
♩. | quarter plus eighth (1.5 beats) |
♪. | eighth plus sixteenth |
double dot ♩.. | a further quarter (1.75 beats); rarer |
Note: a dot adds half the note's own value, not a fixed length.
Notating long notes across beats and bars
| Case | Practice |
|---|---|
| a note crossing a bar line | a tie is required — never one oversized note |
| a note crossing a beat within a bar | usually tied as well, so the beat grouping stays visible |
| a repeated pitch | tied rather than re-struck (especially for legato on piano or strings) |
The first is a hard rule: bar lines mark the accent cycle (see metre) and must not be hidden for notational convenience.
Diagram: beaming draws the beats
Listen: how durations feel
Use rhythm to compare four even quarters with a half plus two quarters. Notice that the notation's symbols (the dot, the flag) are the proportions you hear — which is why reading means reading shapes, not counting seconds (see notating rhythm).
Common misconceptions
- "A dot adds one beat." A dot adds half the note's own value:
♩.is 1.5 beats,♪.is 0.75. - "Beaming is just for convenience." Its core function is showing the beat grouping. Re-beaming the same
- "A long note crossing a bar line can be written as one big note." A tie is required, or the bar line's
- "Stem direction is arbitrary." It follows the note head's position, to keep stems inside the staff (downward
notes changes how hard they are to read.
accent marking is destroyed.
from the third line up). :::
Listen in the library
All tracks from midicn-lib — inline badge is the license tier (C1 commercial / C2 non-commercial / C3 study only).
Sources
- 时值以符尾数量递减（每加一条符尾时值减半）、附点延长自身一半，属记谱法通则
- 连桁（beaming）按拍分组、符干方向按符头位置决定，为通行记谱规范
Used for fact-checking only; all prose is original.