Meaning & use
eighth note
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Meanings
nouncountablemusicAmerican
A musical note that lasts half as long as a quarter note and twice as long as a sixteenth note.
Grammar: Countable, so use a/an or a number: an eighth note, four eighth notes.
Patterns
- a pair of eighth notes
- play something in eighth notes
- two eighth notes joined by a beam
The melody begins with two eighth notes followed by a quarter note.
In 4/4 time, eight eighth notes fill one whole bar.
She tapped out the rhythm in steady eighth notes.
nouncountablemusicAmerican
A note of this length as written on a staff, drawn with a filled head, a stem, and usually one flag.
Grammar: Also countable; when talking about the written symbol, you can say 'draw an eighth note'.
Patterns
- write an eighth note
- an eighth note with a flag
The teacher asked us to draw an eighth note at the start of the bar.
Beamed eighth notes are easier to read than notes with separate flags.
Word forms
| plural | eighth notes |
|---|
Common combinations
- a pair of eighth notes
- The drummer opened the song with a pair of eighth notes on the hi-hat.
- beamed eighth notes
- The two beamed eighth notes share one thick line across their stems.
- play in eighth notes
- Try playing the scale in eighth notes instead of quarter notes.
- an eighth-note rest
- There is an eighth-note rest before the melody comes back in.
- count in eighth notes
- Count the bar in eighth notes so you don't rush the ending.
Synonyms and how they differ
- quaver
- This is the usual British word for the same note; use 'quaver' in British English and 'eighth note' in American English.
Word family
- quarter note noun
- A note twice as long as an eighth note.
- sixteenth note noun
- A note half as long as an eighth note.
- eighth-note rest noun
- A short silence lasting the same time as an eighth note.
Commonly confused: eighth note or eighth rest? eighth note or note?
eighth note vs eighth rest
An eighth rest is a moment of silence of the same length, not a sound; the note is played, the rest is not.
eighth note vs note
'Note' on its own can mean any written symbol or a single pitch, while 'eighth note' names one exact length.
Practice
In 4/4 time, how many eighth notes are needed to fill one whole bar?
Choose one answer.
A whole bar of 4/4 holds four quarter notes, and each quarter note equals two eighth notes, so eight eighth notes fill the bar. 'Four' would only fill half the bar, and 'sixteen' would be sixteenth notes.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “eighth note”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.