Meaning of Breve in Music
In music notation, a **breve** is a musical note that has a time value equal to two semibreves or whole notes. It is the second-longest note value still in use in modern music notation, with the longest notated note being the longa, which could be double or triple the length of a breve, although its use is most commonly found in early music.
The term "breve" comes from the Latin word "brevis," which means "brief" or "short." In medieval mensural notation, the breve was indeed a short note, either one-third or half as long as a longa. Over time, the meaning of "breve" evolved to represent a longer note value, while still retaining its name.
In modern notation, a breve is commonly represented in either of two ways: by a hollow oval note head, like a whole note, with one or two vertical lines on either side, or as the rectangular shape also found in older notation.
To summarize, a breve in music is a note that lasts for eight beats, which is twice the value of a semibreve. It is the longest single note value and is represented by a hollow oval note head or a rectangular shape .
1. The modern term for brevis. From 13th century mensural notation, the breve indicates a note of the shortest duration. 2. In modern notation, the breve is the British and Italian terms for double whole note.
In addition, you can familiarize yourself with the terms:
- [English] double whole note
- [French] double-ronde (f)
- [German] Doppelganze (f)
- [German] Doppelganzenote (f)
- [Spanish] cuadrada (f)
- [Spanish] doble redonda (f)
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