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whole note

American  

noun

Music.
  1. a note equivalent in duration to four quarter notes.


whole note British  

noun

  1. Also called (in Britain and certain other countries): semibreve.  a note, now the longest in common use, having a time value that may be divided by any power of 2 to give all other notes

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of whole note

First recorded in 1590–1600

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The simplest-looking note, with no stems or flags, is a whole note.

From Literature

We hold whole notes twice as long as halves.

From Literature

“I write long-line stuff in either whole notes or half notes,” he added.

From New York Times

I maintain that it's mixing pronouns if the whole note is from him, but we both sign it.

From Washington Post

“There’s things you can do with tone and whole notes that also induce relaxation,” Conley said.

From Washington Times