Musical Language
Senior 1 · Music
Musical Language
Lesson 4 of 5
18 min
Silence is part of music. A choir must breathe together between phrases; a drummer leaves gaps so that the next stroke lands with more force; a song feels exciting when the band suddenly stops for a beat. These silences are measured just as carefully as the sounds. The signs that measure silence are called rests.
A rest tells you to be silent for a set number of beats. Each note value from the last lesson has a rest of exactly the same length, with the same name: a crotchet rest lasts as long as a crotchet, and so on.
| Rest | What it looks like | Crotchet beats of silence |
|---|---|---|
| semibreve rest | a small block hanging below line 4 | 4 |
| minim rest | a small block sitting on line 3 | 2 |
| crotchet rest | a zigzag with a hook at the bottom | 1 |
| quaver rest | a slanting stroke with one hook and dot | half a beat |
| semiquaver rest | a slanting stroke with two hooks and dots | a quarter of a beat |
The semibreve rest and the minim rest look almost the same, so learn their places carefully. The semibreve rest hangs down from line 4. The minim rest sits up on line 3, the middle line.
A rest does not have a pitch, so it is written in the same place whatever the clef.
Music is divided into bars, short sections that each hold the same number of beats; you will study them in Unit 2. When a whole bar is silent, a semibreve rest is written in the middle of it. This whole-bar rest is used in every kind of bar, even one that holds only 2 or 3 beats.
When you read music, count every beat aloud, sounding or silent. The bars below hold four crotchet beats each.
Worked example
Check that bar 3 holds exactly four beats, and find how much of it is silent. Two quavers make 1 beat. The quaver rest and the quaver make another beat. The crotchet is 1 beat and the crotchet rest is 1 beat. Total: 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 4 beats. The silence is the quaver rest (half a beat) plus the crotchet rest (1 beat), which is one and a half beats.
Like notes, rests can be dotted: a dot adds half the rest's value, so a dotted crotchet rest lasts one and a half beats. In tonic sol-fa, which you will use in Unit 2, a rest is shown simply by leaving a beat empty.
Tip
Heavy things hang, light things sit. The semibreve rest is worth more (4 beats), so it is "heavier" and hangs from line 4. The minim rest (2 beats) is lighter and sits on line 3. And a whole bar of silence always uses the semibreve rest.
Try each question first, then check the worked solution underneath.
Which rest lasts for 2 crotchet beats, and where is it written?
Solution: The minim rest. It is a small block sitting on line 3, the middle line.
A bar of four crotchet beats holds a minim and a crotchet. Which rest completes the bar?
Solution: A crotchet rest. The minim (2) and the crotchet (1) make 3 beats, so 1 beat of silence is missing.
How many quaver rests last as long as one minim rest?
Solution: 4. A minim rest is 2 beats and each quaver rest is half a beat, so four quaver rests fill it.
A bar of three crotchet beats is completely silent. Which rest is written?
Solution: A semibreve rest in the middle of the bar. The whole-bar rest is used in any bar, whatever its number of beats.
Add up the silence: a crotchet rest, a quaver rest and a semiquaver rest.
Solution: One and three quarter beats: 1 + a half + a quarter.
Remember
Sources and credits
The lesson text, the rest shapes, the notation diagrams and the practice were written by Ganzaa.
This lesson adapts CC BY-SA material and is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.
