Double whole note either of two ways: by a hollow oval note head, like a whole note, with one or two vertical lines on either side, as on the left of the image, or as the rectangular shape also found in older notation, shown in the middle of the image (; ). Because it lasts longer than a bar in most modern time signatures in common use, the breve is rarely encountered except in English music, where the half-note is often used as the beat unit . A related symbol is the double whole rest (double rest or breve rest), which usually denotes
Note value Note value In music notation, a note value indicates the relative duration of a note, using the texture or shape of the "note head", the presence or absence of a "stem", and the presence or absence of "flags/beams/hooks/tails". Unmodified note values are fractional powers of two, for example one, one-half, one fourth, etc. A rest indicates a silence of an equivalent duration. The breve appears in several different versions, as shown at right. The first two are commonly used; the third is a stylistic alternative. Sometimes the longa or breve is used to indicate a very long note of indefinite