Quarter note

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In music, a quarter note is played for one quarter of the duration of a whole note. Quarter notes are notated with a filled-in oval note head and a straight, flagless stem. The stem is usual pointed upwards if it is below the middle line of the staveor downwards if it is on or above the middle line. However, this may be changed if there is more than one part to differentiate between the parts. The head of the note also reverses its orientation in relation to the stem. (See image.)

Image:Quarter notes and rest.svg

A related symbol is the quarter rest. It denotes a silence of the same duration as a quarter note. Some describe the quarter rest as a "z joined to a c." It also looks somewhat like the Japanese kana pronounced "so".

Quarter notes are also known as crotchets (mostly outside of the US). Similarly, quarter rests are known as crotchet rests.

The word crotchet comes from Old French crochet, meaning 'little hook', diminutive of croc, 'hook'. The phrase quarter note is a loan translation of German Viertelnote.

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