eighth-note

Figure 1. An eighth note with stem extending up, an eighth note with stem extending down, and an eighth rest. Figure 2. Four eighth notes beamed together. Comparison of duple note values: = 2×, etc. v t e

An eighth note (American) or a quaver (British) is a musical note played for one eighth the duration of a whole note (semibreve). Its length relative to other rhythmic values is as expected—e.g., half the duration of a quarter note (crotchet), one quarter the duration of a half note (minim), and twice the value of a sixteenth note. It is the equivalent of the fusa in mensural notation.