Music Note Symbol (♪)

The music note (♪) is a single eighth note — the universal text symbol for music, songs and 'now playing'.

♪

Eighth Note · U+266A · Music Symbols

Click the symbol or the button to copy it, then paste it anywhere — documents, messages, bios and code.

Music Note codes

Code	Value
Unicode code point	`U+266A`
Unicode name	`Eighth Note`
HTML named entity	`&sung;`
HTML decimal	`♪`
HTML hex	`♪`
CSS content code	`\266A`
JavaScript / JSON	`\u266A`
Windows Alt code	No standard Alt code — copy it from the card above

Music Note variants (12)

12 related glyphs — click any tile to copy it. Tiles with a page open that symbol's own page.

♫Beamed Eighth Notes ♩Quarter Note♬Beamed Sixteenth Notes𝅘𝅥Musical Symbol Quarter Note𝅘𝅥𝅮Musical Symbol Eighth Note𝅘𝅥𝅯Musical Symbol Sixteenth Note𝅗𝅥Musical Symbol Half Note𝅝Musical Symbol Whole Note𝅘Musical Symbol Notehead Black♮Music Natural Sign ♯Music Sharp Sign ♭Music Flat Sign

Meaning & usage

♪ is one eighth note (a quaver): a filled oval head, a stem, and a single flag. Long before emoji, it was THE way to write music in text — ♪ now playing ♪, lyrics in chat, a singer's name in a programme.

It comes from early computer character sets, so it renders everywhere as clean text. For a fuller sound, its beamed partner ♫ joins two notes together — the two are the most copied music symbols in the world.

Examples in use

♪ Happy birthday to you ♪
Now playing: lo-fi beats ♪
Music club meets Fridays ♪

How to type the music note

Windows

There is no Alt code or direct key for ♪. In Microsoft Word, type 266A and press Alt+X to convert it. Everywhere else, click the Copy button at the top of this page and paste it (Ctrl+V) — that always works.

Mac

There is no Option-key shortcut for ♪ on a Mac. Open the Character Viewer with Control+Command+Space, search for "Music Note", and double-click to insert — or copy it from this page.

iPhone & Android

Most phone keyboards have no built-in key for ♪. Open this page on your phone, tap Copy, then paste it into your message or bio. (On Android, Gboard's emoji search finds some symbols by name.)

Linux

Press Ctrl+Shift+U, type 266a and press Enter (works in most GTK apps and terminals with IBus). Or copy it from this page.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between ♪ and ♫?

♪ is a single eighth note with one flag. ♫ is two eighth notes joined by a beam — visually 'more music'. Both are text characters you can copy and paste.

How do I type ♪ on a keyboard?

There is no standard key or Alt code for ♪. Copy it from this page and paste it into posts, bios and documents.

Can I use ♪ in an Instagram or TikTok bio?

Yes — ♪ is a normal text character, so it works in bios, usernames (where special characters are allowed) and captions.

Why does ♪ sometimes show as a box or question mark?

The box (called tofu) means the device or font viewing it has no drawing for U+266A (Eighth Note). The character itself is fine — try a different font or a newer device, or use one of the variants on this page.

Is the Music Note free to use?

Yes. ♪ is a standard Unicode text character published in the Unicode Character Database. You may use it in personal and commercial documents, designs and products without permission or payment.