4.2: Durational Symbols
In the present day, the most common time signature is 44 (also known as “common time”). It makes sense to introduce durational symbols in the context of 44 because a whole note takes up a whole measure in 44, a half note takes up half a measure of 44, a quarter note takes up 14 of a measure, and so on.
Here are durational symbols for rests.
To put this information into practice, listen to the durational values double in speed in each measure of the following example.
Two rare durational values are the double whole note (also called a “breve”) and the 64th note, which is twice as fast as a 32nd note.