Note

Duration (Length of Notes) in the Logic Piano Roll & Note Names in Musical Notation

Golden Rule: using the following information will only be applicable if Logics division setting is set to /16 (see diagram below):


Note name
(English)

Note Name
(American)

Semibreve

Whole Note

Minim

Half Note

Note Length Note Symbol Note Symbol

(if there is
more than
one note
together)
4 beats
N/A




2 beats
N/A

Crotchet

Quarter Note

1 beat

Quaver

Eight Note

beat

Semi-Quaver

Sixteenth Note beat

16

N/A

Number of
Example of appearance in the piano roll
Squares
needed in the
piano roll

WARNING!
Be very careful when using the AMERICAN note names they DO NOT represent how many beats a note lasts for!
For example, a Quarter Note does NOT last for a quarter of a beat it lasts for 1 beat

Note Stems

Note stems can go up or down, but actual note value (i.e. how long each note lasts for) remains the same. For example, both of these notes
are Crotchets or Quarter Notes:

Tied Notes

Notes tied together look something like this:

Its addition you add together their note values. In this example we have a Quaver (1/2 a beat) tied to a Crotchet (1 beat). So, the total value
in the piano roll will be 1 and beats:
- 2 squares (Quaver) plus 4 squares (Crotchet) = 6 squares in length:-

+

=

Dotted Notes

When you see a dot next to a note, this adds on half of the notes value. Below you will see 2 examples:

Example 1 Dotted Minim



- As we can see from our table above, a Minim normally lasts for 2 beats
- Half of a minim is 1 beat, or a Crotchet
- A dotted Minim therefore last for 3 beats shown above as 3 Crotchets added together
- Minim + half a Minim = 3 beats: 2 beats + 1 beat = 3 beats
- In the piano roll, thats 8 squares (Minim or 2 beats) + 4 squares (Crotchet or 1 beat) = 12 squares (Dotted Minim or 3 beats)
-



+
=


Example 2 Dotted Crotchet




- As we can see from our table above, a Crochet normally lasts for 1 beat
- Half of a Crotchet is a beat, or a Quaver
- A dotted Crotchet therefore last for 1 and beats shown above as 3 Quavers added together
- Crotchet + half a Crotchet = 1 and beats: 1 beat + beat = 1 beats
- In the piano roll, thats 6 squares (Crotchet or 4 beats) + 2 squares (Quaver or beat) = 6 squares (Dotted Crotchet or 1 and 1 beats)
-

Dotted Notes and Other Notes

Often you will see a dotted note joined to another note. Its this one here that can be confusing:





1 2
3 4 5


- The 1st is a Dotted Quaver.
- The 2nd is.. ?
- The 3rd is a Quaver.
- The 4th is a Quaver.
- The 5th is a Crotchet.

Whats the 2nd note?

Its a Semi-Quaver, lasting for of a beat (1 square in Logics piano roll).









st

nd rd

th

th

Note Names in Musical Notation

C 3 in Logics Piano Roll