Eighth Note

A symbol from the Music Symbols collection. Click the symbol or the button below to copy.

Symbol: ♪
Unicode: U+266A
HTML entity: ♪
Category: Music Symbols

Export

Download Eighth Note as a vector SVG or a raster PNG.

PNG size

SVG uses the system font stack — open in any vector editor and convert to outlines if needed. PNGs have a transparent background.

2 of 42 in the music symbols collection

About the eighth note symbol

Eighth Note, represented by the symbol ♪, is a musical notation character that signifies a tone played for half the duration of a quarter note. In written English, it is simply referred to as an eighth note or occasionally a quaver in British contexts. This symbol belongs to the Miscellaneous Symbols block and is a standard part of the Common script used across various digital platforms to represent auditory content.

Modern usage of this character is most frequent in social media posts and digital messaging to indicate that someone is listening to music or singing. It is often placed at the beginning or end of a sentence to denote lyrical content or a melodic tone in text. Beyond informal communication, the symbol appears in closed captions for television and film to signal background music or to identify that a character is performing a song.

How to type Eighth Note

Native keyboard shortcuts for each operating system — derived from the codepoint, so the steps below are always accurate.

Windows

2 options

In Word / Outlook: type 266A then press Alt + X.
Anywhere: press Win + . to open the emoji & symbol picker, then search.

macOS

2 options

Enable “Unicode Hex Input” in System Settings → Keyboard, then hold Option and type 266A.
Or: Control + Command + Space opens the Character Viewer — search by name.