In music notation, an eighth note represents one-half of a beat and is represented by a filled circle with a stem and one flag or beam. It is so named because it lasts for the duration of one eighth of a whole note. Also called a quaver.

A series of eighth notes on the staff looks something like this:


    /\                                                     
---| /-----------------------------------------------------
   |/                              |\                      
---/-----------------|\-------*----|-|\--------------------
  /|            *    |/     *|     | | |\                  
-/-|/\---------|-----|\----|-|-----|-|-|-|-----------------
|  |  |       \|     |     | |    *  | | |                 
|--|--|-------/|----*------|-|------*--|-|-----------------
 \ |  |       \|           |/         *  |                 
--\|_/----------------------------------*------------------
   |                                                       
  \|