Sixteenth note: symbol and how to count it

The sixteenth note is the shortest value most players meet in everyday music. It is half as long as an eighth note and a quarter as long as a quarter note, so it takes four of them to fill a single beat of 4/4. Sixteenth notes give music its quick, rippling feel, from fast piano runs to the busy patterns of a drummer's hi-hat.

What does a sixteenth note look like?

A sixteenth note has a filled notehead and a stem, just like a quarter note, but with two flags on the stem instead of none. When several sixteenth notes are written together, the flags become two thick beams across the stems. The easy rule is: one flag or beam means eighth note, two flags or beams mean sixteenth note.

How many beats does a sixteenth note get?

In 4/4, 3/4 and 2/4, a sixteenth note gets a quarter of a beat. Four sixteenth notes last one beat, which is the same as one quarter note. A whole measure of 4/4 holds sixteen sixteenth notes. In 2/2 time, where the half note gets the beat, a sixteenth note gets an eighth of a beat.

In 6/8 the beat is normally the dotted quarter note, which equals three eighth notes or six sixteenth notes. So in 6/8 a sixteenth note is one sixth of a beat. In every time signature, a sixteenth note is always exactly half the length of an eighth note and a quarter the length of a quarter note.

How to count sixteenth notes

Say "1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a". The number lands on the beat, the "&" lands halfway through the beat, and the "e" and "a" fall in the gaps. Say it as "one ee and a" with the "e" sounding like "ee." Each of the four syllables is exactly one sixteenth note, so you need to say them evenly, like four taps of the same size.

1. Count "1 2 3 4" slowly and tap your foot on each number.
2. Add the "&" between the numbers to feel eighth notes.
3. Add "e" and "a" to feel four even sounds per beat.
4. Clap on every syllable at a slow speed, then gradually speed up.

Sixteenth notes mixed with other values

Sixteenth notes rarely appear alone for long. A beat can be split in several ways: four sixteenths, one eighth plus two sixteenths, two sixteenths plus one eighth, or one eighth plus one eighth. The counting stays the same, and you simply play only the syllables that have a note. An eighth note followed by two sixteenths is played on "1" and "&" and "a" while the first note is held through "e."

Sixteenth note, semiquaver and other names

In British English the sixteenth note is a semiquaver, which literally means "half a quaver." A thirty-second note is a demisemiquaver. These names are the same logic as the American ones, only with a different vocabulary: each name tells you the note is half of the one before it.

How the sixteenth note relates to other notes

Two sixteenth notes equal one eighth note. Four equal one quarter note, eight equal one half note, and sixteen equal one whole note. A dot after an eighth note makes a dotted eighth, which lasts three sixteenths, and it is often paired with a sixteenth note to form a lively skipping rhythm.

If sixteenth notes look scary, remember that they are just eighth notes divided one more time. If you can clap eighths evenly, you are already most of the way there.

Common mistakes

• Counting four notes to a measure instead of four per beat. Sixteenth notes are fast.
• Playing the first sixteenth correctly and rushing the others. Keep the four notes of every beat the same length.
• Mixing up the count with eighth notes. Eighths use only "1 &"; sixteenths use "1 e & a."

See the full list of values on the note values page, and compare with the slower values on the pages for the quarter note and the eighth note.

Check yourself

Related pages

• Note values: how long each note lasts
• Eighth note: symbol, beams and how to count it
• Quarter note: symbol, beats and counting
• Syncopation in music
• Time signatures explained
• 4/4 time signature