Note Values and RestsLet’s take a closer look at note values and rests, also called the duration of a note or rest. When reading music notes, the notes themselves show us two things:
Naming Note ValuesFor simplicity I will use the American system of naming the notes. Here is a translation chart if you are used to the British system: The names, as you can see, indicates that they are fractions. Each note value is a part of a whole note, and that gives them their names; as you can see here: 
In music there are also silences, and those are called rests. Each note has a rest of the same duration. 
Different Parts of a NoteThere are different parts of the note that show us the duration. They are the head, the stem and the flag:
Counting Notes and RestsThe notes show us how many beats they last. What is a beat? Think of it as your heart beat. All music is based on beat, and the different notes and rests symbolize how many beats, or part of a beat, they last. However- since notes and rests are fractions the amount of beats that a note value or rest is worth can actually change, depending on what note the beat itself represents! What will never change is the relationships between the notes and rests themselves. Look at this chart:
A whole note or rest equals two half notes. A half note or rest equals two quarter notes, etc. This will always be true. As you start learning about music theory and playing the piano, it is usually enough to first of all understand that one beat is very often represented by one quarter note. (Just remember that this can change! Any note can be worth one beat.) Assuming then, that one quarter note equals one beat, the basic notes and rests have the following number of beats:
Continuing to divide one beat (= quarter note) in smaller fractions we get:
Music RhythmNotes can be combined in many ways. Notes and rests are combined in patterns. These patterns are called rhythm. Shorter note values are grouped or beamed together, often in groups lasting for one or two beats. This makes it easier to read, and makes more sense when playing the music. Triplets
Three notes grouped together are called triplets. Usually you will see eight note triplets, but any note value can be combined as triples. A simple rule of how many beats a triplet is worth is to take away one of the notes. So three eight note triplets = two eight notes, three quarter triplets = two quarter notes, etc.
Tools to Adjust the Duration the NotesTies:There are two ways you can adjust the duration of a note. One is by using a tie.Two (or more) notes with exactly the same pitch can be tied together, meaning that you play the note only once but keep it for the added length of all the notes that are combined.Only notes can be tied like this, not rests.
Dotted Notes:The other way is by using a dot after the note. The dot prolongs the note with half of its value. So for example a dotted half note is worth a half note + half its value: a quarter note. Both notes and rests can be dotted.And you can have double, and triple dots as well!! Every dot adds half the value of the last note added, like this:
Return from Note Values to Piano Theory
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