Semiquaver

Figure 1. Two semi-cutcheas and a semi-cutchea silence.

Figure 2. Four semi-cutches together.

The semiquaver is a musical figure that is equal to 1/16 of the value of the round figure. The ancestor of the 16th note is the 16th note of mensural notation, not to be confused with the current 16th note figure.

Graphic representation

Semiquaver figures are represented with an oval note head colored in black, with a vertical stem with two virgules or brackets, which have the shape of hooks or tails (see Figure 1).

The direction of the stem depends on the position of the note. As with all stemmed figures, they are drawn with the stem to the right of the notehead and facing up, when the represented sound is below the third line of the staff. While, when the note is on or above said middle line, they are drawn with the stem to the left of the note head and downwards. However, this rule is not absolute since it can vary when it is necessary to tie several notes or when more than one voice is represented. In fact, in polyphonic works, the orientation of the stems helps to distinguish the different voices.

The brackets should always go on the right side of the stem, curved to the right. When the stem points up, the bracket starts at the top point and curves down; when the stem points downward, the bracket starts from the bottom point and curves upward.

When several sixteenth notes (the same happens with eighth notes, 32nd notes, 16th notes) are close to each other and are within the same beat unit, their two brackets join becoming three thick bars more or less horizontal depending on the general direction of the notes to join (see Figure 2). In vocal and choral music, a different syllable is often assigned to each note, and when a single syllable is assigned to several notes, they are often drawn linked.

Figure 3. Carcasses and semi-cutcheas linked.

Figure 4. Loose and semi-cutcheas.

The sixteenth note rest is its equivalent rest. The semiquaver, like all musical figures, has a silence of the same value and assumes that no sound is emitted during that time.

In Unicode the sign for two joined sixteenth notes is U+266C (♬).

Duration and equivalences

In a binary subdivision bar (2
4 ; 3
4; 4
4; etc.) the sixteenth note lasts a quarter of a beat. So, in a bar of 4
4 this figure occupies one sixteenth of a measure. If a dot is added, the resulting total duration is its usual value plus half that value. Thus, for example, if its duration is 2 thirty-second notes, with the dot it would last 3 (2 + 1).

The semiquaver figure is equal to one sixteenth of a whole note, one eighth of a half note, one quarter of a quarter note, one half of an eighth note, 2 32nd notes, or 4 16th notes. Above the whole note there are some figures of longer duration but they have fallen out of use in current musical notation. They are: the square, which is equivalent to eight quarter notes, the longa, which is equivalent to 16 quarter notes, and the maxima, which is equivalent to 32 quarter notes. Below the semifusa there are also other figures of shorter duration that are not used today either. They are: the scribble, which is equivalent to 1/128 of a whole note, and the semi-scribble, which is equivalent to 1/256 of a whole note, that is, 1/64 quarter note pulses.

Etymology

The names given to this figure and its silence in different languages vary enormously:

Most of the terms derive from the one chosen to designate the eighth note figure, adding the pertinent prefixes for the new concept. Thus, the Spanish, Italian and Portuguese meanings use the prefix "semi", while the English one maintains the options "semi" and "demi" to refer to the fact that this figure has half the duration of the eighth note. For its part, the current French name double-croche adds double since in its case it alludes to the double hook of the spelling of the note. The French term for eighth note croche means "hook".

In the UK and Canada, this note is called a semiquaver, which means half-quaver. This name comes from the British term for eighth note, quaver ("tremulous sound").

The meaning in American English is sixteenth note, which means «sixteenth note» in relation to the value of the whole note, called «whole note» in this nomenclature. The American terms are semantic carbon copies of the German terms, since when American orchestras were first established in the 19th century they were largely populated by German emigrants.