Everything about Crotchet totally explained
In
music, a
quarter note (American or "German" terminology) or
crotchet (British or "classical" terminology) is a
note played for one quarter of the duration of a
whole note (or
semibreve). Quarter notes are notated with a filled-in oval
note head and a straight, flagless
stem. The stem usually points upwards if it's below the middle line of the
stave or downwards if it's on or above the middle line. However, this may be changed if there's 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.)
In
Unicode, the symbol is U+2669 (
♩).
A related symbol is the
quarter rest (or
crotchet 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."
The note derives from the
semiminima of
mensural notation. The word
crotchet comes from
Old French crochet, meaning 'little hook', diminutive of
croc, 'hook', because of the hook used on the note in black notation. However, because the hook appeared on the
eighth note (or
quaver) in the later white notation, the modern French term
croche refers to an eighth note. The term
quarter note is a
loan translation of German
Viertelnote.
The names of this note (and rest) in European languages vary greatly:
| Language |
note name |
rest name |
| German |
Viertelnote |
Viertelpause |
| Greek |
Tetarto (τέταρτο) |
Pafsi tetartou (παύση τετάρτου) |
| French |
noire |
soupir |
| Italian |
semiminima |
pausa di semiminima |
| Spanish |
negra |
silencio de negra |
| Swedish |
fjärdedelsnot |
fjärdedelspaus |
| Portuguese |
semínima |
pausa de semínima |
The French and Spanish names for the note (both meaning "black") derive from the fact that the
semiminima was the longest note to be colored in mensural white notation, which is true as well of the modern form.
The Greek names mean "quarter" (for the note) and "quarter's pause" (for the rest); all rests in music are called "pauses" in Greek.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Crotchet'.
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