duration
Quick Summary
In Western music, a note is a symbol that indicates pitch by its position on a staff and duration by its shape. Notes evolved from neumes in the 13th century. The duration of a note determines how long a sound is held, with common modern values including whole, half, quarter, eighth, and sixteenth notes. These durations are relative to each other, with each symbol having half the duration of the one to its left. Rests are symbols for silence and are equally important for rhythm. The time signature provides a rhythmic framework, indicating how beats are grouped in each measure and which note value represents one beat.12345
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