Beam
A beam is the thick cross-stroke that joins the stems of several short notes. It replaces the flags of single notes and gathers notes into groups. The number of beams shows the note value: with every beam the duration is halved.
- Job
- joins notes from the eighth note down into groups
- Replaces
- the flag on single notes
- Number
- 1 beam = eighth note, 2 = sixteenth, 3 = 32nd, 4 = 64th
- Use
- beats immediately recognisable
How a note is built
The page Reading music says what parts a single note consists of: the note head, which is round or filled, usually a stem, and sometimes flags or beams. The shape and fill of the head determine the duration, the position on the lines the pitch. Pitch and duration are two completely separate pieces of information that every note carries at the same time.
| Note value | Duration | Beams or flags |
|---|---|---|
| Eighth note | half a beat | 1 |
| Sixteenth note | four per basic beat | 2 |
| 32nd note | eight per basic beat | 3 |
| 64th note | sixteen per basic beat | 4 |
The table comes from the note-value section of that page: an eighth note has, according to the page, one flag or beam, a sixteenth note two, a 32nd note three and a 64th note four. The beam is the same thing as the flag, only it joins several notes.
Beams show the beat
The point of beams lies in reading: several notes under one beam can be recognised as a unit. On the page Rhythm it says how to count eighth notes: in four-four time you count “1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and”, and a beam joins the two eighth notes that belong to one beat. In 6/8, which has six eighth notes, the beam arranges the notes in two groups of three, with the weight on 1 and 4.
Piano
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Achttaktige Übung Nr. 4 Carl Czerny, op. 821 No. 4 · piano · 1 page
In 6/8 the six eighth notes of the right hand are arranged by beams into two groups of three. In the left hand the sixteenth notes carry two beams, and they too are joined in groups.
Guitar
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Gitarrenschule, Stück Nr. 9 Johann Kaspar Mertz · from: Guitar-Skole · guitar · 1 page
In 4/4, bar 1 has two pairs of eighth notes, each joined by a beam: one pair on beat 2 and one on beat 4.
Common mistakes
- Confusing beam and tie: The beam joins the stems of several notes and says something about the duration. The tie joins two notes of the same pitch into a longer duration.
- Overlooking the number of beams: Two beams mean sixteenth notes, not eighth notes. If you overlook them, you play twice as slowly.
- Not reading groups as beats: In 6/8 the eighth notes belong to two groups of three, not to six single beats.
Continue on Maikstrings
Related terms
Note stemNoteheadEighth noteSixteenth noteBarlineTieFour-four time
Editor: Maik Krohm · reviewed on 3 October 2026
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