thirtysecond

Thirtysecond, most commonly written as thirty-second note or 32nd note, refers to a note value in musical notation. It represents 1/32 of a whole note. In common time (4/4), this equals one eighth of a beat. A thirty-second note is shown as a filled note head with a stem and three flags; when grouped, these notes are connected by three beams.

Beams and rests: When multiple thirty-second notes occur together, they are typically beamed in groups with three beams. A thirty-second rest has the same duration as the note. In 4/4 time, eight thirty-second notes fill one beat, so a bar may contain many of them depending on tempo.

Usage: The 32nd note is used to notate rapid passages and ornamental figures, such as scales, arpeggios, and cadenzas in classical music, as well as fast rhythms in jazz, film scores, and contemporary music. Composers employ 32nd-note triplets and other subdivisions to achieve subdivisions smaller than the 16th note.

Name and history: The term is sometimes called demisemiquaver in British English and 32nd note or 32nd in American English. The conventional spelling with hyphen is thirty-second note in many varieties of English; “thirtysecond” is nonstandard but may appear in some contexts. The 32nd note has existed since the common practice period of Western music and remains a standard notation for fast passages.