Definition

1. Noun:
   • The relative duration of a musical note: In musical notation, a note value indicates how long a note should be held relative to other notes. It is determined by the note's shape (e.g., whole note, half note, quarter note).

Usage

• is a technical term used primarily in the context of reading, writing, and discussing written music. It refers to the temporal length of a note, independent of its pitch.

Examples

• Noun:
  • The first note in the measure has a note value of a quarter note.
  • You must count the note value of each rest correctly to keep time.
  • The composer changed the note value from a half note to two tied quarter notes.

Advanced Usage

• "To diminish/increase the note value": To shorten or lengthen the written duration of a note, often through the use of dots or ties.
  • A dot after a note increases its note value by half.

Variants and Related Words

• Duration: A more general term for the length of time a sound or silence lasts in music.
• Time value: A less common synonym for .

Synonyms

• Musical value
• Time value (context-specific)

Related Phrases

• Note head: The oval-shaped part of a musical note.
• Stem: The vertical line attached to a note head.
• Flag: The curved mark on a note's stem that denotes a shorter .

Idioms

(No common idioms specifically use the term note value.)

Noun

1. (music) the relative duration of a musical note