Hemidemisemiquaver

[Megan]

Can the musicians here explain what a hemidemisemiquaver is and how it is played. Is played as a trill? are there any famous instances in music?

[Chris]

Hemidemisemiquaver is just the British term for 64th note. There is nothing special about it; it's not an automatic trill or anything like that. It looks like an eighth note except with four flags instead of one. And just as an eighth note is played for 1/8 of a beat, a 64th note is played for 1/64 of a beat.

They are common in music. For example, the opening Grave to Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 8, the "Pathetique," has them.

[Peter]

You find them predominantly in music of a slow tempo and Beethoven's music has many examples.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sixty-fourth_note

[Michael]

Apologies for having hi-jacked this topic on another thread. I still find it amazing that the hemi-thingummy appears in slow music Being a 64th note, I would imagine that it would be used in incredibly fast music - but bear in mind that you are dealing with a musical illiterate.

[Chris]

Apologies for having hi-jacked this topic on another thread. I still find it amazing that the hemi-thingummy appears in slow music Being a 64th note, I would imagine that it would be used in incredibly fast music - but bear in mind that you are dealing with a musical illiterate.

Well, it depends what you mean by "fast" music. If by fast, you mean a lot of notes in a short period of time, then yes, 64th notes are generally going to produce fast music. But when you are talking about the actual tempo of a piece, you are talking about how often a beat occurs. Generally, 64th notes are used to make "fast" passages in music at a slow tempo. If you tried to use them in music at a fast tempo, it would probably be mechanically impossible. At a very fast tempo, sixteenth notes would probably give you all the speed you need. The Grave from the "Pathetique" is the perfect example of this - the music is at a very slow tempo, but there are some fast runs in it, and the 64th (and shorter) notes are the exact way this is accomplished.

[Michael]

Well, it depends what you mean by "fast" music. If by fast, you mean a lot of notes in a short period of time, then yes, 64th notes are generally going to produce fast music. But when you are talking about the actual tempo of a piece, you are talking about how often a beat occurs. Generally, 64th notes are used to make "fast" passages in music at a slow tempo. If you tried to use them in music at a fast tempo, it would probably be mechanically impossible. At a very fast tempo, sixteenth notes would probably give you all the speed you need. The Grave from the "Pathetique" is the perfect example of this - the music is at a very slow tempo, but there are some fast runs in it, and the 64th (and shorter) notes are the exact way this is accomplished.

Yes, I'm finally getting it. Thanks, Chris. A little knowledge (in my case) is a confusing thing.

[Michael]

The Grave from the "Pathetique" is the perfect example of this - the music is at a very slow tempo, but there are some fast runs in it, and the 64th (and shorter) notes are the exact way this is accomplished.

So the demhemidemisemiquaver does exist?

[PDG]

So the demhemidemisemiquaver does exist?

I prefer demihemidemisemiwotsits...

[Chris]

So the demhemidemisemiquaver does exist?

The 128th note is actually called a "semihemidemisemiquaver", and it does indeed exist. In fact they are used in, again, the Grave of the "Pathetique."

[Michael]

The 128th note is actually called a "semihemidemisemiquaver", and it does indeed exist. In fact they are used in, again, the Grave of the "Pathetique."

Good God!
Thankfully, the Americans call it the 1/128th note!