There’s More to Playing the Piano


Chapter 4 - Rests

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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.

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