The crotchet (or quarter note) is drawn as a solid circle on the
appropriate staff line or space, with a
stem either going up to the right of the circle, or going down on its
left. Its length is half that of a minim. It is the most commonly used note these days. There are 4 crotchets to a
semibreve, 2 to a minim.
It is used
to indicate tempo in metronome settings, such as 80 crotchets per minute,
written as =80.
The actual duration of a note in seconds depends on the symbol and on
the tempo indication. If the metronome is set to 60MM,
or =60,
which means 60 crotchets or quarter notes per minute, then each crotchet or
quarter note will last exactly one second. This is a very slow tempo, often
marked as largo. A moderate speed, such as andante, would be
=120,
which means each crotchet or quarter note will play for half a second.
Symbol | Australian & British | USA | Time value in crotchets or quarter notes | Description |
---|---|---|---|---|
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Crotchet | Quarter Note | 1 | This is the length used most often, and the standard for specifying metronome settings. |