There’s More to Playing the Piano

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Chapter 4 - Rests

A rest is a moment of silence. Every note value has its equivalent rest.

Note Name	Note	Rest
Breve Double Whole-note
Semibreve Whole note
Minim Half note
Crotchet Quarter note
Quaver Eighth note
Semiquaver Sixteenth note
Demisemiquaver Thirty-second note
Hemidemisemiquaver Sixty-fourth note

Rests can be dotted in the same manner as normal notes. Rests cannot be tied together.

In this example, notice how the rests are drawn so that each beat of the music is still clear.

The semibreve rest can be used to indicate a full bar’s rest regardless of the time signature.

This symbol is known as a multirest -

It is rarely found in piano music, but is very familiar to orchestral musicians. This particular multirest indicates four bars of silence.

At the piano Play through a piece that you know well. Whenever there are rests, listen closely to the silence. Many performers consider the rests to be more emotionally charged than the notes.