Editing Double whole note (section)

==Alla breve==
{{Main|Alla breve}}
'''Alla breve''', the [[time signature]] {{music|time|2|2}}, takes its name from the note value breve. In the mensural notation of the Renaissance, it was an alternative term for ''proportio dupla'', which meant that the ''brevis'' was to be considered the unit of time (''[[Pulse (music)|tactus]]''), instead of the usual ''semibrevis''. The old symbol {{Music|cut-time}}, used as an alternative to the numerical proportion 2:1 in mensural notation, is carried over into modern notational practice to indicate a smaller relative value per note shape. It is normally used for music in a relatively quick [[tempo]], where it indicates two [[minim (music)|minim]] (half note) beats in a bar of four [[crotchet]]s (quarter notes), while {{Music|common-time}} is the equivalent of {{music|time|4|4}}, with four crotchet beats.{{sfn|Wright|2001}}