Basics
Note Values
Whole note
Half note
Quarter note
When we put a stem on the oval, we cut its duration in half.
When filled in - still with a stem - the duration cuts in half.
Adding a flag cuts the duration in half again.
Eighth note
And so on...
Sixteenth note
Thirty-second note
Sixty-fourth note
As we keep adding flags to the stem, the duration of the note keeps cutting in half, getting smaller and smaller values.
So yes, you should be able to conclude that 8 eighth notes fit into 1 whole note.
and 16 sixteenth notes fit into 1 whole note.
In practice, when using 8th notes, 16th notes, 32nd notes, etc.
(any kind of note with flags), they are grouped by baring them together.
Here is an excerpt from the Barrios piece “La Catedral, Allegro Solemne.”
The piece has a 6/8 time signature. The 6/8 time signature means that there are 6 eighth notes in every bar, and implies that the notes are grouped in two groups of 3 eighth notes. Here we are just seeing two groups of 6 sixteenth notes in every bar.
For more specifics on baring notes together and how grouping them together works, see the Notation Skills page.
All of these note values have an equivalent duration rest symbol.
When writing a piece of music, rests are important characters for symbolizing that no sound is to occur in its duration.
