semibreve

Everyday

(music, UK) The longest common note: it lasts four beats in 4/4 time, as long as two minims or four crotchets; in the USA it is called a whole note. tree →

In the lessons

In music lessons a semibreve is drawn as an open oval with no stem. It fills a whole bar of 4/4 time. Note values form a halving pattern, useful for fractions in maths.

Examples

• A semibreve lasts for four beats. tree →
• In America a semibreve is called a whole note. tree →
• One semibreve fills a whole bar in 4/4 time. tree →
• A semibreve looks like an empty oval with no stem. tree →
• Two minims make one semibreve. tree →
• Hold the semibreve until I count to four. tree →
• A semibreve is as long as eight quavers. tree →

Note

Countable; plural «semibreves». «Semi-» here does not mean «small»: it is a «half» of the old «breve», a note now rarely used. Maths: 1 semibreve = 2 minims = 4 crotchets = 8 quavers = 16 semiquavers. A whole-bar rest looks different (a small block hanging below a line).