What would happen if the WHOLE NOTE became an endangered species?
— We could fill in with a half note — tied to a quarter — tied to an eighth — tied to a sixteenth — tied to a … In this case there would be plenty of stems “to point the way” and enough flags to decorate both the Democratic and Republican Conventions. Or we could use a half note with five or six dots followed by some interesting rests with lots of flags. Does the WHOLE NOTE have any value? Yes! Many times above and beyond all other notes. Not just because of time length and har- mony; but, due to positive attributes, to rhythm and melody. WHOLE NOTES as melody? Gimme a break! Right! The most famous and number one favorite Christmas song starts with a WHOLE NOTE. The song of course is White Christmas. Another famous melody is Thus Spake Zarathustra widely known as the Space Odessy 2001 which is a whole series of WHOLE NOTES. So… What is the problem with WHOLE NOTES? The problem is that the performer normally cheats the WHOLE NOTE of its full value; or fails to keep a good tone
