Short answer: On Windows, hold Alt and type 13 for ♪ or 14 for ♫ on the numeric keypad. In Word, type 266A and press Alt + X for ♪. On a Mac or phone, copy the note you need from the tool below.
Tap to copy a music symbol
Music note symbols — the eighth note ♪, beamed notes ♫ ♬, and the accidentals ♭ ♮ ♯ — turn up in playlists, bios, captions, lyrics and music writing. None sit on a standard keyboard. Here’s the fastest method on every platform, plus the one distinction that trips people up: the sharp ♯ is not the hash #. This is part of the Stars & Hearts hub.
Quick reference
| Symbol | Name | Windows | Word (Alt+X) | HTML | Unicode |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ♩ | Quarter note | Alt + 9833 | 2669 | ♩ | U+2669 |
| ♪ | Eighth note | Alt + 13 or 9834 | 266A | ♪ | U+266A |
| ♫ | Beamed eighth notes | Alt + 14 or 9835 | 266B | ♫ | U+266B |
| ♬ | Beamed sixteenths | Alt + 9836 | 266C | ♬ | U+266C |
| ♭ | Flat | Alt + 9837 | 266D | ♭ | U+266D |
| ♮ | Natural | Alt + 9838 | 266E | ♮ | U+266E |
| ♯ | Sharp | Alt + 9839 | 266F | ♯ | U+266F |
Windows
Turn on Num Lock, hold Alt, and type the code on the numeric keypad (not the top-row numbers). The two most-used notes have short legacy codes: Alt + 13 for ♪ and Alt + 14 for ♫. The rest use their Unicode decimal value — Alt + 9833 (♩), 9836 (♬), 9837 (♭), 9838 (♮), 9839 (♯) — which work in Unicode-aware apps.
No numeric keypad? Press Win + . to open the emoji and symbols panel and type music to filter the notes. If a code returns the wrong character, you’re on the number row — see why Alt codes don’t work.
Mac
macOS has no dedicated Option shortcut for music notes. Two routes:
- Character Viewer: press Control + Command + Space, search note, music, flat or sharp, and double-click to insert.
- Unicode Hex Input: if you’ve enabled that input source, hold Option and type the four-digit hex — Option + 266A gives ♪. Note it only handles four-digit codes, so the fancier musical symbols in the astral range (like the treble clef) still need the Character Viewer.
iPhone and Android
The default keyboards don’t include the plain text notes (♪ ♫). Copy them from the tool above, or use the emoji keyboard for the musical emoji — 🎵 🎶 🎼 🎹 🎸 — which are the colourful versions, not the same as the text symbols. For repeat use, save a text replacement (iPhone: Settings → General → Keyboard → Text Replacement; Android: Personal dictionary) mapping a trigger like mnote to ♪.
Word and Google Docs
Microsoft Word: type the Unicode hex and press Alt + X — 266A → ♪, 266B → ♫, 2669 → ♩, 266D → ♭, 266F → ♯. The Alt + 13/14 keypad codes work too, and you’ll find the notes under Insert → Symbol → More Symbols in the Miscellaneous Symbols block.
Google Docs: go to Insert → Special characters and search music, note, eighth note or flat.
Chromebook
Press Ctrl + Shift + U, release, type the hex (266a for ♪), then Enter. Or open the emoji/symbol picker with Launcher + Shift + Space and search music.
Linux
In most GTK/IBus apps, press Ctrl + Shift + U, type the hex (266a, 266b, 266f…), then Enter or Space to commit it. If that shortcut isn’t enabled, open the Characters / gucharmap app and search music note. Music notes have no standard Compose-key sequence, so the Unicode-entry method is the reliable one.
HTML, CSS and code
The accidentals have handy named entities: ♭ (♭), ♮ (♮) and ♯ (♯). The notes use numeric entities — ♩ ♩, ♪ ♪, ♫ ♫, ♬ ♬. In CSS use the escaped code point, e.g. content:"\266A"; in JavaScript use "\u266A". The core music symbols sit at U+2669 to U+266F. Using ♯ and ♭ instead of # and b also makes musical terms easier to search for on a page.
Notes, accidentals, and the ♯-vs-# trap
A quick orientation, and the distinction worth getting right:
- The notes show duration: ♩ is a quarter note (crotchet), ♪ an eighth note (quaver), ♫ two beamed eighth notes, ♬ two beamed sixteenths. In casual use people reach for ♪ and ♫ as generic “music” marks.
- The accidentals change pitch: ♯ sharp raises a note a semitone, ♭ flat lowers it, ♮ natural cancels a previous sharp or flat.
- ♯ is not #. The music sharp ♯ (U+266F) and the number sign / hash # (U+0023) are different characters. The sharp’s horizontal strokes slant upward so they don’t hide the staff lines; the hash is a plain keyboard symbol. So the note is C♯, even though most people type C# because # is on the keyboard. (The programming language C# does use the hash by name.)
- ♭ is not the letter b. B-flat is B♭ (U+266D), not “Bb” — handy for lyrics, chord charts and clean typography.
- Fancier symbols exist — treble clef 𝄞, double sharp 𝄪, double flat 𝄫 — but they live in Unicode’s astral range and have patchy font support, so copy them rather than typing a code.
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Fix |
|---|---|
| Alt + 13 does nothing | Num Lock off, or you used the top-row numbers. Use the numeric keypad. |
| Laptop has no numpad | Use Win + . (search music), Word’s 266A + Alt + X, or copy from above. |
| I typed # but wanted the sharp | # is the hash. Use the music sharp ♯ (Alt + 9839, or 266F + Alt + X). |
| Note shows as a colour emoji | You inserted a musical emoji (🎵) rather than the text note (♪). Use the text symbol for monochrome. |
| Treble clef won’t type with a code | It’s in the astral range with limited font support — copy it instead. |
| Note shows as a box ▯ | The font lacks the glyph. Switch to Segoe UI Symbol, Arial or a similar font. More: symbol showing as a box. |
Frequently asked questions
How do you type a music note ♪ on Windows?
Turn on Num Lock, hold Alt, and type 13 for ♪ or 14 for ♫ on the numeric keypad, then release Alt. For the other notes use the Unicode value, such as Alt + 9833 for ♩, or type 266A in Word and press Alt + X.
How do you type music notes on a Mac?
There’s no dedicated Option shortcut. Press Control + Command + Space to open the Character Viewer, search “note” or “music”, and double-click the symbol. If you’ve enabled Unicode Hex Input, you can also hold Option and type the four-digit hex, such as Option + 266A for ♪.
What is the difference between the sharp ♯ and the hash #?
They are different characters. The music sharp ♯ (U+266F) has upward-slanting horizontal strokes so it doesn’t obscure staff lines, while the hash # (U+0023) is the number sign on your keyboard. The correct musical note is C♯, though many people type C# because # is easier to reach.
How do you type flat ♭, natural ♮ and sharp ♯?
On Windows use Alt + 9837 for ♭, Alt + 9838 for ♮ and Alt + 9839 for ♯ on the numeric keypad. In Word, type 266D, 266E or 266F and press Alt + X. In HTML they have named entities: ♭, ♮ and ♯.
Is there a music note on the phone keyboard?
Not the plain text notes. Use the emoji keyboard for musical emoji like 🎵 and 🎶, or copy the text symbols ♪ ♫ and, for frequent use, save them as a text replacement.
What are the Unicode code points and HTML entities for music notes?
♪ is U+266A (♪), ♫ is U+266B (♫), ♩ is U+2669 (♩), ♭ is U+266D (♭), ♮ is U+266E (♮) and ♯ is U+266F (♯).
Recap
- ♪ ♫ → Windows Alt + 13 / 14; Word 266A / 266B then Alt + X.
- ♩ ♬ ♭ ♮ ♯ → Unicode Alt (9833, 9836–9839) or Word hex + Alt + X.
- Mac / phone → Character Viewer, or copy from the tool above.
- Sharp → use ♯ (U+266F), not the hash #.
Written by Igor R.. Tested on Windows 11, macOS, iOS, Android, ChromeOS, Linux, Word and Google Docs. Last updated July 2026. Symbol code points follow the Unicode Standard.