Quarter note

In music, a quarter note or crotchet is a note played for one-quarter the duration of a whole note, hence the name. Quarter notes are notated with an oval, filled-in note head and a straight stem with no flags (see Figure 1). A similar symbol is the quarter rest, which denotes a silence for the same duration. As with all notes with stems, quarter notes are drawn with stems to the right of the notehead, facing up, when they are below the middle line of the musical staff. When they are on or above the middle line, they are drawn with stems on the left of the note head, facing down.

Figure 1. A quarter note with stem facing up, a quarter note with stem facing down, and a quarter rest.

See also: whole note, half note, eighth note, musical notation