half note
1
3.6
- noun
- /hæf noʊt/
- Specialized
:
blanca
- The font size of the note denotes its value (half notes are twice as large as quarter notes).
- half notes and quarter notes
- dotted half note
- half note pulse
Examples
-
Whole note, two half-notes and four quarters to a measure.
-
Feature whole and half notes to emphasize sustained playing.
Academic text (2011) -
For example, a dotted half note is a half note plus half of a half note.
Academic text (2013) -
Scales can be practiced in whole notes, half notes, quarter notes, eighth notes, or sixteenth notes.
Academic text (1994) -
I remember teaching fractions to my students by playing my trumpet and explaining quarter and half notes.
Academic text (2001) -
But learning to read half notes as the beat in duple meter is not the only rhythmic challenge students must master.
Academic text (2015) -
Concentrating on pitch, students can play each note as a half or a dotted-half note, regardless of the printed rhythm.
Academic text (2011) -
Whether in 4/4, 2/4, or 3/4 time signatures, quarter notes are always one beat; half notes, two beats; eighth notes, one-half beat; and so on.
Academic text (2015) -
The ostinato pattern can be played on two D's, an octave apart, using half notes (see figure 6a).
Academic text (1996) -
In the piece, there are several measures that feature a half note followed by two quarter notes.
Synonyms
A musical note that lasts for two beats
How Long
- Specialized
1
4.2
- Specialized
1
3.6
- Specialized
1
3.9
- Specialized
1
4.8
- Specialized
1
5.8
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly and compositionally derived from 'half' modifying 'note' — a note that has half the duration of a whole note. This is a straightforward, cross-linguistically common noun phrase construction within musical terminology, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents should be able to infer the meaning.
Etymology
Half note comes from the simple image of a half of a note: imagine a 'whole' note cut into two equal pieces like a pie, and each piece lasts half the time. That's why a half note today means the note that lasts 'half' as long as a whole note and usually takes two 'beats' in 4/4 time.