Half note
Encyclopedia
In music
, a half note (American) or minim (European) is a note
played for half the duration of a whole note
(or semibreve) and twice the duration of a quarter note
(or crotchet). In time signature
s with a denominator of 4, such as 4/4 or 3/4 time, the half note is two beats
long.
Half notes are notated with a hollow oval note head
(like a whole note) and a straight note stem with no flags (like a quarter note; see Figure 1). The half rest
(or minim rest) denotes a silence for the same duration. Half rests are drawn as filled-in rectangles sitting on top of the middle line of the musical staff. As with all notes with stems, half notes are drawn with stems to the right of the notehead, facing up, when they are below the middle line of the staff. When they are on or above the middle line, they are drawn with stems on the left of the note head, facing down.
The note derives from the minima in mensural notation
, which is Latin for 'least or smallest,' because at one stage it was the shortest of all note values used. The word minim comes from this name. The American term half note is a 19th-century loan translation of German halbe Note.
The names of this note (and rest) in other languages vary greatly:
The French and Spanish names for the note (all meaning "white") derive from the fact that the minima was the shortest unfilled note in mensural white notation, which is true as well of the modern form. The form in the earlier black notation resembles the modern quarter note (crotchet). The Greek and Chinese names mean "half" and in Greek, both the modern word (miso - μισό) and the older (imisi - ήμισι) are used. For the rest, the word "pafsi" (παύση) is used; this means "pause".
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, a half note (American) or minim (European) is a note
Note
In music, the term note has two primary meanings:#A sign used in musical notation to represent the relative duration and pitch of a sound;#A pitched sound itself....
played for half the duration of a whole note
Whole note
thumb|right|250px|Figure 1. A whole note and a whole rest.In music, a whole note or semibreve is a note represented by a hollow oval note head, like a half note , and no note stem . Its length is equal to four beats in 4/4 time...
(or semibreve) and twice the duration of a quarter note
Quarter note
A quarter note or crotchet is a note played for one quarter of the duration of a whole note . Often people will say that a crotchet is one beat, however, this is not always correct, as the beat is indicated by the time signature of the music; a quarter note may or may not be the beat...
(or crotchet). In time signature
Time signature
The time signature is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats are in each measure and which note value constitutes one beat....
s with a denominator of 4, such as 4/4 or 3/4 time, the half note is two beats
Beat (music)
The beat is the basic unit of time in music, the pulse of the mensural level . In popular use, the beat can refer to a variety of related concepts including: tempo, meter, rhythm and groove...
long.
Note head
In music, a note head is the elliptical part of a note. Noteheads may be coloured completely black or white, indicating the note value . In a whole note, the note head is the only component of the note. Shorter note values attach a stem to the note head, and possibly beams or flags...
(like a whole note) and a straight note stem with no flags (like a quarter note; see Figure 1). The half rest
Rest (music)
A rest is an interval of silence in a piece of music, marked by a sign indicating the length of the pause. Each rest symbol corresponds with a particular note value:The quarter rest may also be found as a form in older music....
(or minim rest) denotes a silence for the same duration. Half rests are drawn as filled-in rectangles sitting on top of the middle line of the musical staff. As with all notes with stems, half notes are drawn with stems to the right of the notehead, facing up, when they are below the middle line of the staff. When they are on or above the middle line, they are drawn with stems on the left of the note head, facing down.
The note derives from the minima in mensural notation
Mensural notation
Mensural notation is the musical notation system which was used in European music from the later part of the 13th century until about 1600."Mensural" refers to the ability of this system to notate complex rhythms with great exactness and flexibility...
, which is Latin for 'least or smallest,' because at one stage it was the shortest of all note values used. The word minim comes from this name. The American term half note is a 19th-century loan translation of German halbe Note.
The names of this note (and rest) in other languages vary greatly:
| Language | note name | rest name |
|---|---|---|
| Dutch | halve noot | halve rust |
| German | halbe Note | halbe Pause |
| Greek | Imisi/miso (ήμισι/μισό) | Pafsi imiseos/pafsi misou (παύση ημίσεος/παύση μισού) |
| French | blanche | demi-pause |
| Italian | minima | pausa di minima |
| Spanish | blanca | silencio de blanca |
| Polish | półnuta | pauza półnutowa |
| Portuguese | mínima | pausa de mínima |
| Russian | половинная нота | половинная пауза |
| Chinese | 二分音符 | 二分休止符 |
The French and Spanish names for the note (all meaning "white") derive from the fact that the minima was the shortest unfilled note in mensural white notation, which is true as well of the modern form. The form in the earlier black notation resembles the modern quarter note (crotchet). The Greek and Chinese names mean "half" and in Greek, both the modern word (miso - μισό) and the older (imisi - ήμισι) are used. For the rest, the word "pafsi" (παύση) is used; this means "pause".