eighth note

American  

noun

Music.

1. a note having one eighth of the time value of a whole note; quaver.

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eighth note British  

noun

1. Also called (in Britain and certain other countries): quaver.  music a note having the time value of an eighth of a semibreve

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Etymology

Origin of eighth note

An Americanism dating back to 1885–90

Example Sentences

When orchestra rehearsals started Feb. 14, Nézet-Séguin shortened a 16th note here, lengthened an eighth note there as he sang the vocals — including the Celestial Voice ending the auto-da-fé.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 28, 2022

“That time feel, in between a triplet and an eighth note, you can’t really notate it and you can’t really teach it,” he says.

From Washington Post • Jan. 6, 2017

For example, the first dot after a half note adds a quarter note length; the second dot would add an eighth note length.

From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones

A dotted quarter note, for example, would be the length of a quarter plus an eighth, because an eighth note is half the length of a quarter note.

From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones

A piece in six eight might have six beats in every measure, with an eighth note getting a beat.

From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones