Note value Note value In music notation, a note value indicates the relative duration of a note, using the texture or shape of the "note head", the presence or absence of a "stem", and the presence or absence of "flags/beams/hooks/tails". Unmodified note values are fractional powers of two, for example one, one-half, one fourth, etc. A rest indicates a silence of an equivalent duration. The breve appears in several different versions, as shown at right. The first two are commonly used; the third is a stylistic alternative. Sometimes the longa or breve is used to indicate a very long note of indefinite
B♭ (musical note) tune to an A provided by the oboist, wind ensembles usually tune to a B-flat provided by a tuba, horn, or clarinet. In Germany, Russia, Poland and Scandinavia, this pitch is designated B, with 'H' used to designate the B-natural. Since the 1990s, B-flat is often denoted Bb or "Bess" instead of B in Swedish music textbooks. Natural B is called B by Swedish jazz and pop musicians, but still denoted H in classical music. See B (musical note) for an explanation. B♭ (musical note) B (B-flat; also called si bémol) is the eleventh step of the Western chromatic scale