The Whole Note
Lesson Book page 17
- The Whole Note
what's new
- Feeling whole notes
- Recognizing whole notes
- Understanding the relationship among quarter, half, and whole notes
what's important
let's get started
- The whole note is a lo-o-o-ng note. (Point to it on the page.) It gets four counts!
- Let's tap and count whole notes. Now choose any key and let's play and count whole notes.
- (Play The Whole Note Song with the student keeping a whole-note beat on high Gs.) (Download duet)
- When we draw whole notes, we can sing our song: It's got a head but no stem and it's not colored in. (Download duet)
- Let's tap the Rhythm Drill on the page forte and piano! Now you play the rhythm on high Cs with my duet. (Download duet)
Making music should come before reading music.
explore and create
Out for a Slow Walk
Let's walk across the room using whole notes for each step. Count 1-2-3-4. We can bend our knees as we hold the step.Walk As You Wish
What if we wanted to cross the room quickly? Which note would we use: quarter, half, or whole? Suppose we take a lazy walk. Now which note would we use?The Race is On!
(Discuss the story of the tortoise and the hare.) You be the tortoise, and I'll be the hare. We both start at the bottom of the keyboard and aim for the top. But you can only race in whole notes! Do you think you can win? (See video)
Most young children find it hard to wait four counts!
pedagogy pointers
For most young children it's hard to wait a long time. So feeling a whole note may be a challenge.
Once again, it's important to remember that experiencing a whole note—like tapping, clapping, or arm circles—should precede learning what it looks like, or how to draw it.
Note that basic rhythm values are learned before the student is asked to read staff notation, and there is ample reinforcement of rhythm patterns prior to that time, also.
This means that the student has many and varied musical experiences before staff notation is presented.