Half Rest, Whole Rest, Quarter Rest… All Music Rests

In music, a rest (Whole Rest, Half Rest, Quarter Rest…) is a brief silence, a short break in the flow of sound. In musical notation, a rest is the sign that indicates such a break.

Just as there are music note of different values (whole note, half note, etc.), there are rests of different value. For each value of note, there is a rest of equivalent value; for each value of rest, there is a note of equivalent value.

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.
A staff with music notes of different values, without any rest.

 

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.
A staff with music notes and music rests of different values.

 

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
Note value and silence of an equivalent duration.

Difference Between American English and British English

AMERICAN ENGLISH – BRITISH ENGLISH

  • Whole Rest – Semibreve Rest
  • Half Rest – Minim Rest
  • Quarter Rest – Crotchet Rest
  • Quaver Rest – Quaver Rest

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All the Musical Silences

Note and rest values are not limited to those shown above. There are also a sixteenth note and a sixteenth rest (Semiquaver rest), a thirty-second note and a thirty-second rest (Demisemiquaver rest), a sixty-fourth note and a sixty-fourth rest (Hemidemisemiquaver 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.
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.

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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.

7 Note Values (Whole Note, Half Note, Quarter Note…)

The type (shape) of musical notes (Quarter Note, Half Note, Whole Note) fixes the note values (duration).