Grade 4 : Rests: Introduction
Music does not consist only of sounds: it includes silences too. Notation has to show how long each silence lasts, just as it shows how long sounds lasts. The signs used for silences are called rests.
A silence lasting as long as a crotchet is indicated by a crotchet rest.
A silence lasting as long as a quaver is indicated by a quaver rest.
A silence lasting as long as a semi-quaver is indicated by a semi-quaver rest.
A silence lasting as long as a demi-semiquaver is indicated by a demi-semiquaver rest.
The minim and semibreve rests are attached to one of the lines of the stave.
The minim rest sits on top of a line, usually the third line.
The semibreve rest hangs below a line, usually the fourth line.
Rests: Examples
An entirely silent bar in 4/2 is shown by a breve rest
but an entirely silent bar in 4/4, and in every other
time signature is shown by a semibreve rest –
Rest groupings in simple and compound time.
The general rule is that every beat should have a rest of its own. Starting with simple time signatures, look at the following:
You can see that every beat has its own rest. Also rests are included to complete a beat as in the example shown above in 2/4 time.
As long as this rule is complied with, as few rests as possible should be used.
Rest groupings in simple and compound time: Examples
In quadruple time, a 2-beat rest should be used for either half of the bar but not in the middle. Thus:
Compound time.
In 6/8, 9/8 and 12/8, a silence which lasts one complete beat can be shown as either
If only the first two quavers of a dotted crotchet beat are silent, they are best shown as:-
If the last two quavers of a dotted crotchet beat are silent, they should always be shown as:-
You may think of the three units of a compound-time beat as being grouped 2 + 1, like a crotchet and a dot, not as 1 + 2. The way the rests are grouped in this example demonstrates the standard practice:-
Everything that was said about rests in simple time can be applied to rests in compound time, bearing in mind the general rule that ‘every beat should have a rest of its own’ now refers to a dotted note.
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