Quarter note

What it is

A quarter note is a note value equal to one quarter of a whole note. In many common meters, especially 4/4, the quarter note is the basic beat you count and feel.

In 4/4 time, one bar contains four quarter notes. That is why the count is usually written and spoken as 1 2 3 4, with each number marking one quarter-note pulse.

A quarter note does not have a fixed length in seconds. Tempo decides that. At 60 BPM, one quarter note lasts one second. At 120 BPM, one quarter note lasts half a second.

How to count it

In 4/4, count quarter notes like this:

1 2 3 4

Each number is one quarter note. If you add eighth-note subdivisions, the quarter notes still land on the numbers:

1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and

The quarter notes are on 1, 2, 3, and 4. The word and sits halfway between them.

In 3/4, a bar contains three quarter-note beats:

1 2 3

In 2/4, a bar contains two quarter-note beats:

1 2

In each case, the quarter note is the same note value, but the meter changes how many of them fit in a bar and how they are accented.

How it feels

The quarter note often feels like the main walking pulse of the music. If you tap your foot once per beat in 4/4, you are probably tapping quarter notes.

In a basic 4/4 groove, the quarter-note pulse might be counted as:

1 2 3 4

With beat 1 accented, it can feel like:

ONE 2 3 4

In rock, pop, funk, R&B, and many related styles, beats 2 and 4 often carry the backbeat:

1 TWO 3 FOUR

The pulse is the steady reference point, the subdivision is how each pulse is split into smaller parts, and the accent is where extra weight or emphasis is placed.

In that situation, the quarter note is the steady pulse, while the accents and instrument parts create the groove. The pulse, the accents, and the rhythm are related, but they are not the same thing.

Where it appears

Quarter notes appear in almost every notated style of music. They are especially useful as a reference point because many tempo markings use them, such as quarter note = 100. Not every tempo marking is quarter-note based, though; in compound meters, the dotted quarter note is often the felt beat.

Drummers may play a quarter-note kick drum pattern, a quarter-note ride cymbal pattern, or a quarter-note count-in. Bassists and guitarists may use quarter notes for steady accompaniment. Pianists may play quarter-note chords to outline the beat. Singers often use quarter notes when learning where lyrics sit against the pulse.

Quarter notes are also common in teaching because they make the relationship between beat and subdivision easy to hear. Eighth notes divide each quarter note into two equal parts. Sixteenth notes divide each quarter note into four equal parts.

Common mistakes

Thinking a quarter note always equals one beat. In 4/4, 3/4, and 2/4, the quarter note commonly receives the beat. But in 6/8, the felt beat is often the dotted quarter note, not the plain quarter note.

Thinking a quarter note always lasts one second. It only lasts one second when the tempo is quarter note = 60 BPM. Change the tempo, and the real-time duration changes.

Confusing note value with articulation. A quarter note tells you a rhythmic value, not automatically how long or short the sound should feel musically. A staccato quarter note and a legato quarter note can occupy the same rhythmic space but sound very different.

Ignoring the quarter rest. A quarter rest takes up the same amount of time as a quarter note, but it is silent. Counting through the silence is just as important as playing the note.

Rushing between clicks. When the metronome clicks quarter notes, do not treat each click as a target to chase. Feel the space between clicks evenly, especially at slow tempos.

Practice with a metronome

1. Set the metronome to 70 BPM in 4/4. Clap once with every click and count 1 2 3 4 out loud.
2. Keep clapping quarter notes, but accent beat 1: ONE 2 3 4.
3. Now accent beats 2 and 4 while still clapping every beat: 1 TWO 3 FOUR.
4. Switch to counting eighth notes: 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and. Clap only on the numbers.
5. For a harder version, set the metronome to click only on beats 2 and 4. Keep counting all four quarter notes yourself.

If your claps drift away from the click, slow the tempo down. The goal is not speed. The goal is to make each quarter note feel evenly spaced and connected to the pulse.