Smaller Note Values: Sixteenth, Thirty-Second and Sixty-Fourth Notes

The System Continues

In the previous post we met the four main figures: whole, half, quarter and eighth notes. We learned that each one lasts exactly half as long as the one before it, and that this proportional principle is the foundation of all rhythmic reading.

That principle does not stop at the eighth note. The same logic continues toward ever shorter durations: the sixteenth note lasts half as long as the eighth, the thirty-second lasts half as long as the sixteenth, and the sixty-fourth lasts half as long as the thirty-second. The system is consistent to the extreme: always the same relationship, always the same proportion, applied to increasingly small fragments of time.

If the whole note is a long, sustained breath, the sixteenth note is a flash. And the sixty-fourth note, almost a thought.

The Sixteenth Note: Two Flags, Twice as Fast

The sixteenth note is the most common of the three. It lasts half as long as an eighth note: one quarter of a beat. In a four-beat measure, sixteen sixteenth notes fit in. Visually it is distinguished from the eighth note by having two flags on the stem — or two beams when grouped together.

For the guitarist, sixteenth notes are the territory of fast riffs, quick arpeggios and medium-to-high speed solos. When you practice a scale at moderate tempo with the metronome playing four notes per beat, you are playing sixteenth notes. Each metronome click is divided into four equal attacks.

A useful exercise: take the same exercise from the previous post — a single note, the open first string — and now add sixteen sixteenth notes. Count aloud: one-e-and-a, two-e-and-a, three-e-and-a, four-e-and-a. That four-syllable subdivision per beat is the standard way to count sixteenth notes in modern guitar pedagogy.

The Thirty-Second Note: Three Flags, Virtuoso Territory

The thirty-second note lasts half as long as the sixteenth: one eighth of a beat. Thirty-two of them fit into a four-beat measure. It has three flags — or three beams — on the stem.

The thirty-second note is not rare, but its appearance in the repertoire tends to be associated with high-speed passages or detailed ornamentations. In classical guitar it appears in works by Sor, Giuliani or Tárrega when the composer wants to indicate a very fast movement within an expressive passage. In jazz it is occasionally used in very fast solos or in bebop transcriptions.

The important thing is not to memorize it as a figure for everyday use, but to recognize it when it appears and understand that it follows exactly the same proportional logic: half the sixteenth note, twice as fast.

The Sixty-Fourth Note: Four Flags, the Perceptual Limit

The sixty-fourth note lasts half as long as the thirty-second: one sixteenth of a beat. Four flags on the stem. Sixty-four fit into a four-beat measure.

At moderate tempo, the sixty-fourth note is already almost a trill: the required speed exceeds the conscious attack capacity of most guitarists. For this reason its practical use is very limited and it appears mainly in orchestral music or keyboard instruments. On guitar it makes sense mainly in slow tempos or as an approximate indication of free ornamentation.

The theoretical system could continue indefinitely — always half, always two more flags — but the human ear has limits, and musical practice respects them.

How to Read Them: Beaming

When several flagged figures appear consecutively, the flags are replaced by horizontal beams connecting the stems. One beam equals one eighth-note flag, two beams equal a sixteenth note, three equal a thirty-second, four equal a sixty-fourth.

This visual grouping makes the score much more readable: instead of seeing a cloud of individual flags, the eye groups the values at a glance. On guitar, this grouping also reflects how the attacks are executed: notes joined under the same beam are usually played in the same motion or within the same subdivision of the beat.

The Complete Table: The Figure Tree

To fix the relationship between all figures, here is the complete tree: whole note (4 beats), half note (2 beats), quarter note (1 beat), eighth note (½ beat), sixteenth note (¼ beat), thirty-second note (⅛ beat), sixty-fourth note (1/16 beat). Each level is exactly half the previous one.

The proportion between any pair of figures can be calculated immediately: a whole note equals sixteen sixteenth notes, a half note equals eight, a quarter note equals four. The system is, in its structure, perfectly binary.

Something to Keep Thinking About

Rhythm figures tell us how long each note lasts. But there is something we have not yet named: silence. Rests also have duration, also have value, also appear in the score. And on guitar — where strings ring on by inertia — knowing when and how to stop is just as important as knowing when to attack. In the next post, silence takes center stage.

Speed is not virtuosity. Virtuosity is making proportions audible at any tempo. — Wanda Landowska