Figure 1. An eighth note with stem facing up, an eighth note with stem facing down, and an eighth rest.

Figure 2. Four eighth notes beamed together.

In music, an eighth note (United States) or a quaver (Commonwealth) is a note played for one eighth the duration of a whole note, hence the name. Two eighth notes (stems up and down) and an eighth rest on the staff. ... Two eighth notes (stems up and down) and an eighth rest on the staff. ... Four eighth notes beamed together on a staff. ... Four eighth notes beamed together on a staff. ... Music is a form of expression in the medium of time using the structures of tones and silence. ... Commonwealth English is a collective term for the perceived standard English language used in the Commonwealth of Nations1, applying in theory to Australian English, British English, Caribbean English, Canadian English, Hiberno-English (Irish English)2, Hong Kong English3, Indian English (includes Pakistani English), formal Malaysian English, New Zealand English, formal... Figure 1. ...

Eighth notes are notated with an oval, filled-in note head and a straight note stem with one flag. (see Figure 1). A related symbol is the eighth rest (or quaver rest), which denotes a silence for the same duration. Stems can refer to two things in music, relating to music notation and production. ... Categories: Music stubs ...

As with all notes with stems, the general rule is that eighth notes are drawn with stems to the right of the notehead, facing up, when they are below the middle line of the musical staff. When they are on or above the middle line, they are drawn with stems on the left of the note head, facing down. In musical notation, the staff or stave is a set of five horizontal lines on which note symbols are placed to indicate pitch and time. ...

Flags are always on the right side of the stem, and curve to the right. On stems facing up, the flag starts at the top and curves down; for downward facing stems, the flags start at the bottom of the stem and curve up. When multiple eighth notes or sixteenth notes (or thirty-second notes, etc.) are next to each other, the stems may be connected with a beam rather than a flag, like the notes in Figure 2. Figure 1. ... In music, a thirty-second note (American) or demisemiquaver (British/Canadian) is a note played for one thirty-second the duration of a whole note, hence the name. ... A beam in musical notation is constructed as one or more lines used to connect multiple consecutive eighth notes, sixteenth notes, etc. ...

The word quaver comes from the now archaic use of the verb to quaver meaning to sing in trills. The term eighth note is a translation of German Achtelnote.

The note derives from the fusa of mensural notation; however, fusa is the modern Spanish name for the thirty-second note. Menstrual notation is the musical notation system which was used from the later part of the 13th century until about 1600. ... In music, a thirty-second note (American) or demisemiquaver (British/Canadian) is a note played for one thirty-second the duration of a whole note, hence the name. ...

The names of this note (and rest) in European languages vary greatly:

The French name, croche is from the same source as crotchet, the British name for the quarter note. The name derives from crochata ("hooked"), to apply to the flags of the semiminima (in white notation) and fusa (in black notation) in mensural notation; thus the name came to be used for different notes. In music, a quarter note is played for one quarter of the duration of a whole note. ... Menstrual notation is the musical notation system which was used from the later part of the 13th century until about 1600. ...

See also

• whole note
• half note
• quarter note
• sixteenth note
• musical notation
• dotted note
• tuplet
• swung eighth