Whole note

What it means

The whole note (German Ganze) is the longest note value in common use in present-day practice. It corresponds to two half notes, four quarter notes, eight eighth notes, and so on; in 4/4 time it fills a whole bar, from which its name derives. Like all note values, it designates a ratio, not an absolute duration — how long it sounds is determined by the tempo.

Longer values do exist, but they are exceptions: the brevis corresponds to two whole notes and comes from mensural notation. In metres with fewer than four quarter notes, the whole note fills more than a bar and must be written across the bar line with a tie.

In the notation

The whole note consists of an empty, oval notehead without a stem. It is thus the only note without a stem and is recognizable at once in the notation. The corresponding whole rest hangs as a small bar below the fourth line. A peculiarity: the whole rest stands in almost all metres for a complete bar, even if this is shorter or longer than four quarter notes.

Dotted, the whole note yields six quarter notes, which in 6/4 time, for instance, fills a full bar.

Musical use

Whole notes carry sustained voices: pedal points in the bass, held chords in winds and strings, closing sonorities. In choral music they appear at the ends of sections and over fermatas. In chorale settings the melody often lies in whole or half notes while the accompanying voices move in smaller values — a texture that lets the chorale melody stand out distinctly.

In alla breve time it lasts two beats.

Performance practice

Count out the full four beats; long values are almost always taken too short. Hold the sound over the whole duration and do not let it drop off already after two beats. With winds plan the breath, with strings the bow distribution, so that the note carries to the end. And in ensemble movements, watch when the sustained voice ends: a closing note released too early stands out at once.