Talk:Whole note

message: a note can go for even longer if it is held down or shaked  
Shouldn't the article say how the whole note can cover the entire measure for other time signatures (not 5/4, I know it's already in there)? I know that the whole note can be equal to a few other amounts of time. 99.254.204.28 (talk) 23:16, 1 May 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: ”Held down or shaked”? You mean mugged? (Note values are relative. The absolute duration of a pitch is irrelevant.) TheScotch (talk) 04:07, 16 May 2021 (UTC)
thread_title:  Note length 

message: Are there any examples of a "whole note" lasting other than exactly 4 beats? If not, we can move out the typical sentence from the lede. 
I'd also like to mention this:
* The most basic note is called the whole note because ... it lasts a whole measure [in common time]. The Complete Idiot's Guide to Music Theory, 2nd Edition By Michael Miller
I'll wait a while, and if there are no objections I'll make the change. --Uncle Ed (talk) 20:30, 4 February 2011 (UTC)
thread_title: Number of beats

message: I was taught that a whole note gets four beats - all the time. A whole rest (hanging from the second line), on the other hand, gets as many beats as there are in the measure. A half rest always lasts two beats.
The only exception to this rule is the rare occasion when a piece is written in 4/2 time. For almost every piece you'll ever see in print, the meter is 4/4 or 3/4, or some variation on the eighth note like 6/8 (less commonly 3/8 or 9/8). 
A few years ago I tried to bring this all up, and ran away to avoid an edit war. It seemed to have something to do with American vs. British usage. I'm hoping to make a more complete reference article about note lengths, paying proper respect to the British system of minims, et al., but also helping out our American readers. 
For a note in 4/4 time, "whole" means an entire (or 'whole') measure of beats: 4 beats. In 3/4 time, though, a whole note would be written as a dotted half note tied to a quarter note.
For a rest, "whole" always means an entire measure. That symbol hanging from the second line means "Do not play at all during this measure." The duration of a whole rest depends entirely upon the meter. In 3/4 time, the whole rest symbol means a three-beat rest.
It may be hard for the beginning music student to remember the distinction in beat count between the whole note and the whole rest, and I'd like to make it easier for the reader who comes here for the answers. --Uncle Ed (talk) 20:23, 14 June 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: We must distinguish usage in general and correct usage. Just because you may have discovered an instance of a whole rest sharing of measure of, say, 4/2, with other rests or notes doesn’t make it correct. Errors in music notation abound, and quite a few make it into published print. So how do we at Wikipedia decide what is correct? Well, we go by sources, of course. The point is that if you want the article to say that a whole rest can take up only part of a measure, you need more than an example of it doing so; you need a reputable source that specifically says that this is valid practice. TheScotch (talk) 18:02, 19 May 2021 (UTC)
thread_title: Whole note and whole rest

message: Why and where does this article need additional citations for verification? What references does it need and how should they be added? Hyacinth (talk) 03:34, 18 February 2012 (UTC)
thread_title: Additional citations