Thirty-second note
Encyclopedia
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, a thirty-second note (American or "German" terminology) or demisemiquaver (British or "classical" terminology) is a note
Note
In music, the term note has two primary meanings:#A sign used in musical notation to represent the relative duration and pitch of a sound;#A pitched sound itself....
played for 1/32 of the duration of a whole note
Whole note
thumb|right|250px|Figure 1. A whole note and a whole rest.In music, a whole note or semibreve is a note represented by a hollow oval note head, like a half note , and no note stem . Its length is equal to four beats in 4/4 time...
(or semibreve). It lasts half as long as a sixteenth note
Sixteenth note
thumb|right|Figure 1. A sixteenth note with stem facing up, a sixteenth note with stem facing down, and a sixteenth rest.thumb|right|Figure 2. Four sixteenth notes beamed together....
(or semiquaver) and twice as long as a sixty-fourth note
Sixty-fourth note
In music notation, a sixty-fourth note or hemidemisemiquaver is a note played for 1/64 of the duration of a whole note . It lasts half as long as a thirty-second note ....
(or hemidemisemiquaver).
Thirty-second notes are notated with an oval, filled-in note head
Note head
In music, a note head is the elliptical part of a note. Noteheads may be coloured completely black or white, indicating the note value . In a whole note, the note head is the only component of the note. Shorter note values attach a stem to the note head, and possibly beams or flags...
and a straight note stem with three flags or beams
Beam (music)
A beam in musical notation is a thick line frequently used to connect multiple consecutive eighth notes , or notes of shorter value , and occasionally rests...
.
As with all notes with stems, thirty-second 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. Flags are always on the right side of the stem, and curve to the right. On stems facing up, the flags start at the top and curve down; for downward facing stems, the flags start at the bottom of the stem and curve up. When multiple thirty-second notes or eighth note
Eighth note
thumb|180px|right|Figure 1. An eighth note with stem facing up, an eighth note with stem facing down, and an eighth rest.thumb|right|180px|Figure 2. Four eighth notes beamed together....
s (or sixteenth note
Sixteenth note
thumb|right|Figure 1. A sixteenth note with stem facing up, a sixteenth note with stem facing down, and a sixteenth rest.thumb|right|Figure 2. Four sixteenth notes beamed together....
s, etc.) are next to each other, the flags may be connected with a beam
Beam (music)
A beam in musical notation is a thick line frequently used to connect multiple consecutive eighth notes , or notes of shorter value , and occasionally rests...
. Similar rules apply to smaller divisions such as sixty-fourth note
Sixty-fourth note
In music notation, a sixty-fourth note or hemidemisemiquaver is a note played for 1/64 of the duration of a whole note . It lasts half as long as a thirty-second note ....
s.
The names of this note (and rest) in European languages vary greatly:
| Language | note name | rest name |
|---|---|---|
| Dutch | tweeëndertigste noot | tweeëndertigste rust |
| German | Zweiunddreißigstelnote | Zweiunddreißigstelpause |
| French | triple-croche | huitième de soupir |
| Italian | biscroma | pausa di biscroma |
| Portuguese | fusa | pausa de fusa |
| Russian | тридцать вторая нота | тридцать вторая пауза |
| Spanish | fusa | silencio de fusa |
"Fusa" derives from the mensural notation
Mensural notation
Mensural notation is the musical notation system which was used in European music from the later part of the 13th century until about 1600."Mensural" refers to the ability of this system to notate complex rhythms with great exactness and flexibility...
corresponding to the modern eighth note
Eighth note
thumb|180px|right|Figure 1. An eighth note with stem facing up, an eighth note with stem facing down, and an eighth rest.thumb|right|180px|Figure 2. Four eighth notes beamed together....
.