In music, a quarter note (American) or crotchet (Commonwealth) is played for one quarter of the duration of a whole note. Quarter notes are notated with a filled-in oval note head and a straight, flagless stem. The stem usually points upwards if it is below the middle line of the stave or downwards if it is on or above the middle line. However, this may be changed if there is more than one part to differentiate between the parts. The head of the note also reverses its orientation in relation to the stem. (See image.)

A related symbol is the quarter rest (or crotchet rest). It denotes a silence of the same duration as a quarter note. Some describe the quarter rest as a "z joined to a c." It also looks somewhat like the Japanese kana So (そ).

The note derives from the semiminima of mensural notation. The word crotchet comes from Old French crochet, meaning 'little hook', diminutive of croc, 'hook', because of the hook used on the note in black notation. However, because the hook appeared on the eighth note in the later white notation, the modern French term croche refers to an eighth note. The term quarter note is a loan translation of German Viertelnote.

The names of this note (and rest) in European languages vary greatly:

The French, Italian and Spanish names for the note (all meaning "black") derive from the fact that the semiminima was the longest note to be colored in mensural white notation, which is true as well of the modern form.

Musical notation

negra | negra (nota) | noire (musique) | Ćwierćnuta | Semínima