Guide to Rests in Musical Notation
Learn all about different kinds of rests in music in this comprehensive guide.
The purpose of rests
Music is an interplay between sound and silence. When the conductor raises the baton and signals the beginning of a piece of music, it is born from silence. And when a conductor finally lowers their baton, the music returns to silence.
But there is also silence between musical notes. And rests help us to communicate and organize this silence within music. To play a rest is, therefore, to play silence. This silence gives music punctuation, rhythm, poise, and structure. So let’s look at the different types of rests you’ll encounter in music.
Go here if you need a refresher on notes in music.
Whole rests
The whole rest in music takes four beats, just like the whole note. However, with the rest it takes four beats of silence. Because we actually have to stop the strings from ringing we call this “playing” the rest.
To count the rest, we will count 1-2-3-4, just like we did when looking at notes in music.
Exercise
Now let’s practice this on the guitar. We will use m-i alternation in the right hand. To silence the ringing first string, you will place the m finger back on to the string. (That’s what the brackets around the m mean in measure 2.) Let the m rest there for four full beats (1-2-3-4) until you start measure 3. Your m finger is already prepared on the string for that measure now. Just loop measures 1 and 2 for now to get used to the whole rest.
Half rests
The whole rest and the half rest are the two most confusing rests in musical notation because they look so similar. The half rest in music takes two beats, just like the half note (see a trend?). You could think of this one as the “hat” rest because it sits on top of the line and looks a bit like a top hat. The whole rest, however, hangs down from the line.
Exercise
For our half note rest exercise we will use i-m alternation to play B on the second string and use the i finger to play the rest until measure 4. Continue to count through the rest as your finger rests silently on the second string.
Quarter rests
The quarter rest in music takes one beat of silence. The quarter rest symbol looks like a squiggly line.
Exercise
For the quarter-note rest exercise let’s play on the open third string (G). Pay close attention to the alternation in the right hand so you know which finger you use to play the rest.
Eighth rests
Just like with music notes, the eighth rest begins to subdivide the beat. In 4/4 time signature we count four beats per measure. And the eighth rest divides one beat (one quarter note) into two equal halves. To count these halves we will use the mnemonic device: 1-and, 2-and, etc.
So the eighth rest in music takes 1/2 of a beat.
Exercise
For our eighth-note rest exercise, we have left out right-hand fingerings. Remember to alternate and use the next finger in the alternation sequence to “play” each rest. Count using subdivisions: 1-and, 2-and, etc. Choose a tempo that is comfortable and you aren’t rushed.
Sixteenth rests
Sixteenth rests in music take 1/4 of a beat, thus subdividing one eighth rest into two equal halves. We won’t look at any exercises for these next two examples, but you can practice counting. Count with the mnemonic: 1-e-and-a, 2-e-and-a, etc. The sixteenth looks like two eighth notes stacked on top of one another, or an eighth note with two flags.
32nd and 64th rests
And, yes, you may also see thirty-second and sixty-fourth note rests in music. These are much rarer, however, and typically only appear in very slow music. The thirty-second rest has three flags, and the sixty-fourth rest four.
Multi-measure rests
In ensemble music you will often see multiple measures of rests indicated with the symbol below.
The “3” in the above example means to rest for three full measures. In 4/4 time signature, that means you will count “1-2-3-4” three times.
In an orchestra or ensemble setting, an easy way to keep track of how many measures have gone by is to use a mnemonic device. Count like this: 1-2-3-4, 2-2-3-4, 3-2-3-4. That way you replace “1” with which measure of rest you are on.
How do you stop the sound on the guitar for a rest?
Stopping one string
To stop a string sounding, simply place your finger lightly on the string. Make contact with the pad of your finger rather than the edge of your nail. Otherwise you’ll get a little “zzz” sound. In all of our examples above we used right-hand alternation. So simply place the pad of the next finger in the alternation sequence down on the string to play the rest. This also has the advantage of preparing that finger on the string for the next note.
Stopping multiple strings
To stop multiple strings, you can do one of two things. Either place several fingers on the strings. Or use various parts of your left or right hand to dampen all six strings at the same time.
How to stop sound on all six strings
When stopping all six strings, make sure your hand is able to get back into playing position quickly. A great way to do this is to rotate your wrist so that the outer edge of your thumb sits flat across the six strings.
Rests in voices
In classical guitar music we will often encounter music that is written in multiple voices. Another word for this is polyphony. One way many composers and music editors will communicate voicing in music is to separate voices by which direction their stems point. For instance, an upper voice will have stems pointing up. Bass voices will have stems pointing down.
While this breaks with the normal way in which stems appear in other genres and instruments, it helps us communicate clearly which voice is which. However, it becomes more complicated the more voices there are.
What this will mean, though, is that sometimes you see a rest above or below a note. This indicates that the rest belongs to another voice. And each voice must add up to the correct number of beats in a measure. So one voice may be playing on every beat of the measure, while another voice rests for half of that same measure.
In the above example, we hold the green bass note for four full beats. That’s because it belongs to the bass voice. However, the blue upper voice has a rest for one beat and comes in on beat two with three quarter notes.
Should you always “play” a rest?
There are many instances in guitar music where you will see a rest that you don’t have to play. Especially because of voices, sometimes a rest is just there to fill out a voice. Meaning, a voice always has to add up to the correct number of beats in a measure. And if a voice comes in one eighth note late, that measure will always start with an eighth rest in that measure. But that doesn’t mean you have to slavishly play that rest.
The best guide for knowing whether or not to play a rest is the musical context. Time, knowledge, and experience will also help. The example from Giuliani to the right is a case in point. The quarter note rest at the end doesn’t have to be followed strictly. By the time the rest occurs, the D in the upper voice is already dying away anyway.
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