sixteenth note
A note lasting one quarter of a beat in common time, with two flags or beams.
In Depth
The sixteenth note (called a semiquaver in British terminology) lasts one quarter of a beat in 4/4 time. Four sixteenth notes equal one quarter note. They are written with a filled note head, stem, and two flags (when isolated) or two beams (when grouped together).
Sixteenth notes create rapid, running passages that add excitement and virtuosity to music. At fast tempos, they produce the brilliant passagework heard in concerto cadenzas and virtuosic showpieces. In popular music, sixteenth-note hi-hat patterns drive many funk and R&B grooves. Strumming patterns on guitar often incorporate sixteenth notes for rhythmic variety.
The fastest recorded piano playing clocked in at over 19 notes per second — a speed where individual sixteenth notes at high tempo become an almost continuous blur of sound.