Question about note values in sheet music
In my understanding the note value is giving information about how long a note is played until the next note/rest. But does it also give information about how long to hold a note when there is no rest (given you can let the previous note ring longer while playing the following)? Or is that left open for interpretation?
For example: in Capricho Arabe main theme: the bass notes are writen as quater notes but when i see guitarists playing it they play the first bass note and let it ring over the whole bar. Thanks
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Jimbo Super interesting topic! I guess it is always depending on the context, the genre and the musical period we are talking about.
If we talk about very idiomatic guitar music, a lot of the musical information is already embedded in the fingerings of a composer. Additionally, the surrounding harmony gives you a strong indication as well as well as the genre: Is it a dance a waltz? Is it a more like a recitative? If there is no rest indicated, it could mean a lot of things that can contradict each other. It might tell you that you don't need to stop it or the rest might just be omited for visual reasons! Unfortunately, i doubt that there is a general rule to follow!
I'd recommend Steve's Livestream about "Pitches, Rhythm and Rests" where I explored these questions for Bach's Music! While this livestream talks about a different era, it should give you the tools to ask the right questions and dive deeper into this topic!
