In the previous lesson, we learned about the staff and how it provides a visual representation of the pitch and timing of musical notes. In this lesson, we’ll dive deeper into the elements that make up a musical note.

There are several parts to a musical note, including the head, stem, flag, and beam. Understanding each of these parts is essential to reading and writing music.

The Head

The head of a note is the oval-shaped part that is drawn on the staff. It can be either filled in or empty. The position of the head on the staff indicates the pitch of the note.

The Stem

The stem of a note is the thin, vertical line that extends from the head. Its direction depends on the placement of the note on the staff. If the note is below the third line, the stem points upwards; if it is above the third line, the stem points downwards. If the note is on the third line the stem can point up or down.

The Flag

The flag of a note is a small diagonal line that is attached to the stem. Its purpose is to indicate the duration of the note. The more flags a note has, the shorter its duration. the flags can be added to any note that has a black notehead. the white notes can’t be flagged

The Beam

When two or more flagged notes appear in succession, they are connected with beams instead. An exception to this rule is vocal music, where each note is typically written with its own flag and is not beamed.

The Dot

The dot is another element that can be added to a note to indicate its duration. A dot placed after a note adds half its value to the note’s original duration.

A little Quiz:

Find and circle in the example above:

1. a note with two flags
2. a notehead located in the third space.
3. two beamed notes
4. a note with a dot
5. a stem that points up

Check your answers here