demisemise

A demisemise is a term used in music theory to describe a duration of sound that is half the length of a semise. A semise is a musical note that lasts for one sixty-fourth of a whole note. Therefore, a demisemise lasts for one hundred twenty-eighth of a whole note. This note is also known as a semihemidemisemiquaver or a sixty-fourth note. It is rarely encountered in modern music due to its extremely short duration.

The demisemise is not a standard note value in common musical notation. Instead, its existence is derived from the system of subdividing note lengths. A whole note can be divided into half notes, quarter notes, eighth notes, sixteenth notes, thirty-second notes, sixty-fourth notes, and one hundred twenty-eighth notes. Each subsequent division halves the duration of the previous one. While technically possible to conceive of a demisemise, it is so brief that it is almost never explicitly written or utilized. Composers typically use other rhythmic devices to achieve such short durations if needed, such as rapid arpeggios or grace notes. The concept of a demisemise serves primarily as a theoretical endpoint in the progressive halving of note values.