Thirty-Second Note (Demisemiquaver)

One extra flag distinguishes it from a sixteenth note. In a beamed group, count three beams. British notation calls it a demisemiquaver.

A thirty-second is half a sixteenth, a quarter of an eighth and one eighth of a quarter note. In 4/4, eight evenly spaced thirty-seconds fit inside one quarter-note beat. The note's actual length in seconds depends on the tempo.

Slow the pulse first. Subdivide one quarter into two eighths, each eighth into two sixteenths, and each sixteenth into two thirty-seconds. Alternating hands on those eight positions can make them easier to feel than speaking a complicated count.

A brief run or ornament may use thirty-seconds when sixteenths are too broad for the intended rhythm. Their appearance does not instruct the performer to accelerate the underlying beat. A matching thirty-second rest occupies one of the same eight positions.