Whole rest, half rest… Learn to recognize the 7 musical rests and the corresponding durations of the 7 notes values (whole note, half note…) they represent.
In music, musical rests denote brief silences, serving as short breaks in the flow of sound. In musical notation, a rest is the symbol that signifies such a pause.
Just as there are music notes of different values (whole note, half note, etc.), there are rests of different values (whole rest, half rest…).
For each note value, there is a rest of equivalent value; and for each rest value, there is a note of equivalent value.
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Music Rests of Different Values
The example below shows how some of the music notes making up a musical phrase can be replaced with music rests of equivalent lengths.
![A staff with music notes of different values, without any rest.](https://happynote.com/music/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/musical-phrase-without-rests.gif)
Now, the same musical phrase, but some music notes have been changed in rests:
![A staff with music notes and music rests of different values.](https://happynote.com/music/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/musical-phrase-with-rests.gif)
Note Value and Silence of an Equivalent Duration
There is a musical silence for each value of note
![Note value and silence of an equivalent duration: whole rest, half rest, quarter rest, quaver rest](https://happynote.com/music/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/silences-notes-us-300x269.gif)
The whole rest, which is positioned below the fourth line of the staff – remember, lines on the musical staff are always counted from the bottom up – represents a musical rest lasting the same duration as a whole note.
IMPORTANT: When indicating silence for an entire measure, always use a whole rest symbol, regardless of the measure’s duration. For instance, if the piece is written in 3/4 time (meaning it consists of three beats per measure, each worth a quarter note), even though three quarter notes equal a dotted half note rather than a whole note, you should still use a whole rest symbol to indicate the silence.
The half rest, positioned on the third line of the staff, equals the duration of a half note.
The quarter rest equals the duration of a quarter note.
The eighth rest equals the duration of the eight note, the sixteenth rest equals the duration of the sixteenth note, the thirty-second rest equals the duration of the thirty-second note, and the sixty-fourth rest equals the duration of the sixty-four note.
Difference Between American English and British English
AMERICAN ENGLISH – BRITISH ENGLISH
- Whole Rest – Semibreve Rest
- Half Rest – Minim Rest
- Quarter Rest – Crotchet Rest
- Eight Rest – Quaver Rest
Dotted Rest
The duration of a rest may be increased by half but it’s reserved to modern music.
Learn Music Rests the Fun Way with the Free Game Music Note Cracker HN
![A breakout game to learn the music rests (half rest, quarter rest...) the fun way. When the ball hit a music rest, a music note of equivalent duration (half note, quarter note) comes out.](https://happynote.com/music/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/music-note-cracker-500X403-001.jpg)
Music Rests and Music Theory
Music Staff (or Stave)
The music staff (or stave) is made by five parallel horizontal lines.
Clefs – Treble, Bass, Alto, Tenor
Learn about the different musical clefs and which one is used for each musical instrument.
Music Notes – Name of Notes (A B C or Do Re Mi)
Seven notes of music and two systems to name them.