Max Lin '24:
The Legend of "Half Notes Get Two Beats"
During one fateful String Ensemble arrangement, the string orchestra of George School played the “Sara needs a bandaid”, or Sarabande movement of Grieg’s Holberg Suite. As the violin section played the beginning, one certain second violin made a grave mistake: playing a half note as a quarter note. How blasphemous! How sacrilegious! Even a brand-new violinist could play those perfectly fine! The conductor, Dave, immediately shrieks: “NO!!! HALF NOTES GET TWO BEATS STEVEN!!!!!!!!!!!!”. This is the legend of "Half Notes Get Two Beats".
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The beginning of the song was simple. The tempo is Andante, the dynamic is piano, and the only ones playing are the second violins and violas. The first two notes are eighth notes, a G into an A, then the infamous half note A comes right after. Seems simple, right? Just three slow notes played at a slow tempo. However, this is where the legend was born. Steven Tang, of the second violin section, plays the half note as a quarter note, resulting in him being ONE ENTIRE BEAT ahead of the entire section!!! He then plays the distinctive and terribly WRONG notes of an eighth note B, and two sixteenth notes of a C and D right after, as all of the other second violins are still playing the long half note A. Such a BAD violin player! He should be kicked out of the orchestra immediately.
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Nowadays, Steven Tang is still a notorious figure in String Ensemble, as he apparently ALWAYS comes to class late (according to the conductor), and is always blamed for rhythm mistakes in the violin section (even when he is not present in class). His SINGLE MOST SEVERE and PREPOSTEROUS mistake will forever live as a George School legend for years to come.
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