sixteenth note
1
5.8
- noun
- /ˈsɪkˌstiːnθ noʊt/
- Specialized
:
semicorchea
- Scales can be practiced in whole notes, half notes, quarter notes, eighth notes, or sixteenth notes.
- four sixteenth notes
- sixteenth-note rhythms
- sixteenth-note patterns
Examples
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The piece features fast sixteenth notes that create a lively rhythm throughout the composition.
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In this game, the player begins by playing repeated sets of four sixteenth notes on an open string to a steady beat.
Academic text (2010) -
As each group performed for the class, Adam assessed the accuracy of each student's performance using sixteenth notes.
Academic text (2011) -
It's the sixteenth notes in the allegro.
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Finally, the last cycle utilizes sixteenth notes.
Academic text (2013) -
Every single sixteenth note is articulated.
Academic text (2017) -
Adam used composition and performance as a means of assessing students' skills in performing rhythms with sixteenth notes.
Academic text (2011) -
The rhythm is characterized by a dotted rhythm followed by sixteenth notes.
Academic text (2003) -
The well-known "Kookaburra," for example, is an excellent tune for making students aware of sixteenth-note patterns.
Academic text (1992) -
Hilda spends forty minutes working out the technique of a twenty-four-bar sixteenth-note passage.
Academic text (2011)
Synonyms
A very short musical note that lasts one sixteenth of a whole note
How Short
- Specialized
- Specialized
1
5.8
- Specialized
1
4.8
- Specialized
1
3.9
- Specialized
1
3.6
- Specialized
1
4.2
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is compositionally built from 'sixteenth' (an ordinal/fractional modifier) + 'note' (a musical sound/notation), so its meaning — a note lasting one sixteenth of a whole note — is directly derivable from the constituents. This follows a common modifier+noun pattern found across languages, so a B1 learner who knows both words and basic fraction/ordinal concepts will understand it.
Etymology
Sixteenth note comes from the way musicians split a long 'whole' note into sixteen equal parts. Each sixteenth is a very short note, so the name tells you its meaning today: 'a musical note that lasts one sixteenth of a whole note'.