Beam (music)
In musical notation, a beam is a horizontal or diagonal line used to connect multiple consecutive notes (and occasionally rests) to indicate rhythmic grouping. Only eighth notes (quavers) or shorter can be beamed. The number of beams is equal to the number of flags that would be present on an unbeamed note. Beaming refers to the conventions and use of beams. A primary beam connects a note group unbroken, while a secondary beam is interrupted or partially broken. Grouping Beam spans indicate rhythmic groupings, usually determined by the time signature. Therefore, beams do not usually cross bar lines or major subdivisions of bars. A single eighth note, or any faster note, is always stemmed with flags, while two or more are typically beamed in groups. In modern practice, beams may span across rests in order to make rhythmic groups clearer. In vocal music, beams were traditionally used only to connect notes sung to the same syllable. In modern practice it is more common to use standard beaming rules, while indicating multi-note syllables with slurs. Positioning Notes joined by a beam usually have all the stems pointing in the same direction (up or down). The average pitch of the notes is