Lesson 07 The whole note: 4 beats
- Introduction
- 4/4
- 60 bpm
- 4 bars
- 8 claps
- New: whole note
About this exercise
The whole note is the longest note in Beginner 1: one clap and four beats of hands together. The exercise goes through the three notes like a ladder of lengths: a bar of quarter notes (1 beat each), a whole note (4), two half notes (2 each) and a whole note again. This helps you feel the proportion between them: one whole note lasts as long as two half notes or four quarter notes.
The thing to watch is counting the full "2, 3, 4" during the whole note and only then releasing your hands to come into the next bar.
Before you start
The whole note (𝅝, white notehead without a stem) lasts 4 beats: it fills a whole bar of 4/4. Clap on beat 1 and hold your hands together until the end of beat 4.
View Details
How to play it
- Count-in: the site counts 1 bar before starting ("1 2 3 4"). Clap the first note on beat 1 of bar 1.
- Reading: read the line on the yellow strip and look ahead to the next one: that's how you read ahead.
- Hands together: on notes longer than 1 beat (half note and whole note) clap and keep your hands together until the end of the note: hands together = the sound keeps going.
How to practice
- Say the count out loud, without clapping, looking at the Bar by bar table.
- In Together mode, count and clap at the same time as the character.
- In Your turn mode, clap on your own. If it's hard, slow down and then come back.
Bar by bar
Bold = clap · (n) = don't clap, the sound keeps going (hands together) · [n] = rest, hands open.
| Bar | Notes | Count |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 quarter notes | 1 2 3 4 |
| 2 | whole note | 1 (2) (3) (4) |
| 3 | 2 half notes | 1 (2) 3 (4) |
| 4 | whole note | 1 (2) (3) (4) |
Notes used: whole note, half note, quarter note.