Whole note
Encyclopedia
In music
, a whole note (American) or semibreve (British) is a note
represented by a hollow oval note head
, like a half note
(or minim), and no note stem (see Figure 1). Its length is equal to four beats
in 4/4 time
. Most other notes are fractions of the whole note; half notes are played for one half the duration of the whole note, quarter note
s (or crotchets) are each played for one quarter the duration, etc.
A whole note lasts half as long as a double whole note
(or breve).
A related symbol is the whole rest
(or semibreve rest), which usually denotes a silence for the same duration. Whole rests are drawn as filled-in rectangles hanging under the second line from the top of a musical staff.
, to denote a whole measure, irrespective of the time of that measure. The whole rest can be used this way in almost all or all forms of music.
, and this is the origin of the British name. The American name is a loan translation of the German ganze Note.
The names of this note (and rest) in different languages vary greatly:
The French and Spanish names for the note (both meaning "round") derive from the fact that the semibrevis was distinguished by its round stemless shape, which is true as well of the modern form (in contrast to the double whole note
or shorter values with stems). The Greek name means "whole".
Michael Miller
wrote, "[t]he most basic note is called the whole note because ... it lasts a whole measure ...".
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 whole note (American) or semibreve (British) 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....
represented by a hollow oval note head
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 half note
Half note
In music, a half note or minim is a note played for half the duration of a whole note and twice the duration of a quarter note...
(or minim), and no note stem (see Figure 1). Its length is equal to four 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...
in 4/4 time
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....
. Most other notes are fractions of the whole note; half notes are played for one half the duration of the whole note, 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...
s (or crotchets) are each played for one quarter the duration, etc.
A whole note lasts half as long as a double whole note
Double whole note
In music, a double whole note or breve is a note lasting twice as long as a whole note...
(or breve).
A related symbol is the whole 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 semibreve rest), which usually denotes a silence for the same duration. Whole rests are drawn as filled-in rectangles hanging under the second line from the top of a musical staff.
Other lengths
The whole note and whole rest may also be used in music of free rhythm, such as Anglican chantAnglican chant
Anglican chant is a way to sing un-metrical texts, such as prose translations of the psalms, canticles, and other, similar biblical texts by matching the natural speech-rhythm of the words in each verse to a short piece of metrical music. It may be fairly described as "harmonized recitative"...
, to denote a whole measure, irrespective of the time of that measure. The whole rest can be used this way in almost all or all forms of music.
Etymology
The whole note derives from the semibrevis of mensural notationMensural 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...
, and this is the origin of the British name. The American name is a loan translation of the German ganze Note.
The names of this note (and rest) in different languages vary greatly:
| Language | note name | rest name |
|---|---|---|
| Dutch | hele noot | hele rust |
| German | ganze Note | ganze Pause |
| Greek | Olokliro (ολόκληρο) | Pafsi oloklirou (παύση ολοκλήρου) |
| French | ronde | pause |
| Italian | semibreve | pausa di semibreve |
| Spanish | redonda | silencio de redonda |
| Portuguese | semibreve | pausa de semibreve |
| Polish | cała nuta | pauza całonutowa |
| Romanian | notă întreagă | pauză |
| Russian | целая нота | целая пауза |
| Lithuanian | pilnoji nata | pilnoji pauzė |
| Swedish | helnot | helpaus |
| Chinese (中文) | 全音符 | 全休止符 |
| Korean | 온음표 | 온쉼표 |
The French and Spanish names for the note (both meaning "round") derive from the fact that the semibrevis was distinguished by its round stemless shape, which is true as well of the modern form (in contrast to the double whole note
Double whole note
In music, a double whole note or breve is a note lasting twice as long as a whole note...
or shorter values with stems). The Greek name means "whole".
Michael Miller
Michael Miller
- Entertainment :*Mike Miller , American guitarist*Mike S. Miller , comic artist and publisher*Mickey Miller, fictional character on the United Kingdom television series EastEnders, commonly known as Mike Miller...
wrote, "[t]he most basic note is called the whole note because ... it lasts a whole measure ...".