crotchet

«crotchet» in Mova's school dictionary: a musical note that lasts for one beat in most music; in… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 1 sentence of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

noun (a crotchet, crotchets)

meaning for a pupil

1) (music, UK) A crotchet is a musical note that lasts for one beat in most music; in the USA it is called a quarter note. tree →

2) (old-fashioned) A crotchet is a strange, fixed idea or habit. tree →

sense in the lessons

In music lessons: crotchets, minims (two beats) and quavers (half a beat); counting beats is like fractions in maths; it tells you how long to hold a note.

examples

• A crotchet lasts for one beat. tree →
• Two quavers fit into one crotchet. tree →
• Clap four crotchets in each bar. tree →
• A minim is as long as two crotchets. tree →
• The crotchet has a black head and a stem. tree →

note

UK = crotchet, US = quarter note. Maths: crotchet = 1 beat; minim = 2; semibreve = 4; quaver = 1/2. Do not confuse with «crochet» (making things with yarn and a hook) — a common spelling trap.

In the corpora

• 3/4 means three crotchet beats in each bar, which gives the swaying feel of a waltz.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «crotchet» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.