Note value refers to the relative duration of a note. A whole note lasts longer than a half note, which lasts longer than a quarter note, and so on. The relationships are proportional: two half notes equal one whole note, four quarter notes equal one whole note.

Flags, beams, and filled or open note heads indicate these values. Rests have corresponding values that show silence of the same length. The time signature and tempo together determine how long each value lasts in actual clock time.

Understanding note values is essential for reading rhythm accurately. Musicians count or feel the subdivisions so that long and short notes fall in the correct places. Complex rhythms are built by combining different note values and rests within the metric framework.

Even advanced music continues to rely on these simple proportional relationships.