Most of us know that British call an eighth note a "quaver", but...

[bloke]

...I would wager that fewer of us (in the USA) knew that they refer to a quarter note as a "crotchet".

[jtm]

Good thing the rest of us are safely on the metric system now.

[MikeS]

...I would wager that fewer of us (in the USA) knew that they refer to a quarter note as a "crotchet".

There was an opposing school of notation put forth by Prosdocimus de Beldemandis* which called a quarter note a greater semiminim and an eighth note a lesser semiminim. I, for one, don’t worry about playing all this fast nonsense. I stand with Thomas de Walshingham who said, around 1440, 'of late a New character has been introduced, called a Crotchet, which would be of no use, would musicians remember that beyond the minim no subdivision ought to be made.'

*I remember Peter Schickele mentioning Prosdocimus de Beldemandis on one of his records. At the time I thought he had made up the name and thought it was pretty funny. Imagine my surprise when taking a music history course a year later and finding out he was real.

[gocsick]

I can deal with the quaver,crotchet, and minim. Even the occasional demisemiquaver isn't enough to ruffle my feathers. It is the whole note being called the semi breve that makes American me go WTF.

[bloke]

The "breve" is the one with lines on the left and right sides of a whole note (ie. dbl, whole note...ie. "like the measures at the end of the Saint-Saens 'Organ' Symphony", yes?

[MikeS]

[BRS]

.

[Three Valves]

I think I’m feeling a quaver in my crotchet right now.

Hope nothing is on TV tonight…

[windshieldbug]

If there were you might be semihemidemisemiquavering!

[bloke]

If there were you might be semihemidemisemiquavering!

Rochut 3 ?

[travisd]

I think I’m feeling a quaver in my crotchet right now.

Hope nothing is on TV tonight…

If it lasts more than 4 hours, see a doctor...

[Three Valves]

I think I’m feeling a quaver in my crotchet right now.

Hope nothing is on TV tonight…

If it lasts more than 4 hours, see a doctor...

I would, but she ain’t that good looking.

[JC2]

Americans often don’t have the highest reputation for intelligence in commonwealth countries. I think part of this stems from the bastardisation of the English language. It’s amusing to us how many words have been changed to be more self descriptive or have had their spellings simplified in American English. Case in point here!

No offence intended! Just poking a bit of fun

[andycat]

In (semi) defence, surely you can't have double whole?? Whole is, well, whole? and a 1/128th?? Get a grip!

[Tubeast]

Thanks for that translation chart a few posts above.
Imagine somebody trying to dictate a more complicated, heavily subdivided rhythm in that terminology...

[humBell]

...I would wager that fewer of us (in the USA) knew that they refer to a quarter note as a "crotchet".

There was an opposing school of notation put forth by Prosdocimus de Beldemandis* which called a quarter note a greater semiminim and an eighth note a lesser semiminim. I, for one, don’t worry about playing all this fast nonsense. I stand with Thomas de Walshingham who said, around 1440, 'of late a New character has been introduced, called a Crotchet, which would be of no use, would musicians remember that beyond the minim no subdivision ought to be made.'

*I remember Peter Schickele mentioning Prosdocimus de Beldemandis on one of his records. At the time I thought he had made up the name and thought it was pretty funny. Imagine my surprise when taking a music history course a year later and finding out he was real.

Very glad to know Peter Schikele was real.