Meaning & use
semiquavers
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“semiquavers” is a form of “semiquaver”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meaning
nounpluralmusicBritish
Notes in music that last one sixteenth of a whole note, so four of them fit in one beat of a quarter-note pulse.
Grammar: Plural of semiquaver: the passage is full of semiquavers.
Patterns
- play semiquavers
- a run of semiquavers
The violin part is full of fast semiquavers in the final section.
Count four semiquavers to every crotchet beat.
The pianist played the semiquavers cleanly at high speed.
Word forms
| singular | semiquaver |
|---|
Common combinations
- a run of semiquavers
- The flute has a run of semiquavers in bar eight.
- fast semiquavers
- Fast semiquavers make this piece hard to play.
- play semiquavers
- She learned to play semiquavers evenly.
- beamed semiquavers
- Beamed semiquavers are joined by two lines.
- groups of semiquavers
- Notes are written in groups of semiquavers.
Synonyms and how they differ
- sixteenth notes
- Sixteenth notes is the American term for exactly the same notes, so it only differs by region.
- quavers
- Quavers are eighth notes, twice as long as semiquavers, so they are not the same value.
- demisemiquavers
- Demisemiquavers are thirty-second notes, half the length of semiquavers.
Word family
- semiquaver noun
- singular note value
- quaver noun
- an eighth note
- crotchet noun
- a quarter note
- demisemiquaver noun
- a thirty-second note
Commonly confused: semiquavers or quavers?
semiquavers vs quavers
A quaver lasts twice as long as a semiquaver; semiquavers are the faster notes.
Practice
In British note names, how many semiquavers fit into one crotchet?
Choose one answer.
A crotchet is a quarter note, which equals four sixteenth notes (semiquavers). Two would be the number of quavers, which is a tempting mistake.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “semiquavers”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.