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