The Basics 2: Notes and their values
| The whole note |  |
| The half note |  |
| The quarter note |  |
| The eighth note |  |
A whole note lasts for a count of four beats (1 2 3 4). Two half notes = 1 whole note. Therefore, a half note lasts for a count of two beats (1 2)
The quarter note lasts for a count of 1 beat.
The eighth note is half the length of a quarter note, so two eighth notes is equal to one quarter note
Here you can see how the eighth note compares to the half note (in case you weren’t paying attention to the above 
)
Rests
The description of the rest is just that, REST. Silence.
| whole note rest |  |
| half note rest |  |
| quarter note rest |  |
| eighth note rest |  |
The rests are fairly self explanatory, if you view the following example:
The next and final example shows the use of 8th note rests:
