Rests
Have you ever played with that person who never takes a musical breath? They're always strumming and every solo is non-stop tremolo from start to stop. Sometimes the best note is the one you don't play. Rests are a way to notate when not to play in standard notation. Each rest note has a unique symbol that matches the basic note durations. Make sure to check out the "Note Values" lesson to see how rests compare.
Rest Names and Durations
The table below shows most of the common rest values.
Related Lessons
| Whole Rest | 4 beats | A whole rest is a rectangle that hangs from the staff line. |  |
| Half Rest | 2 beats | A half rest is a rectangle that sits on top of the staff line. |  |
| Quarter Rest | 1 beat | A quarter rest looks like a vertical squiggly line.. |  |
| Eighth Rest | 1/2 beat | An eighth rest looks kind of like half of a percent symbol. |  |
| Sixteenth Rest | 1/4 beat | A sixteenth rest symbol is a doubled up eighth rest. |  |
Real World Example
Rests are generally combined with notes. In this example in 4/4 time you would play the notes on beats 1 and 3 and rest on beats 2 and 4. Resting means no sound should be heard on beats 2 and 4.
