Question 1

What is a rest in music?

Accepted Answer

A rest is a musical sign for silence. Just as a note sustains a sound for a certain number of beats, a rest indicates how many beats you play nothing at all. Each note value has an associated rest of the same duration.

Question 2

How many beats is each rest?

Accepted Answer

In 4/4 time: a whole rest takes 4 beats, a half rest takes 2 beats, a quarter rest takes 1 beat, an eighth rest takes half a beat and a sixteenth rest takes a quarter beat.

Question 3

What is the difference between a note and a rest?

Accepted Answer

A note tells you how long you play a sound; a rest tells you how long you are quiet. A quarter note and a quarter rest both last 1 beat, but you play the note and you don't play the rest.

Question 4

What are all the rests in music?

Accepted Answer

The most commonly used rests are: whole rest (4 counts), half rest (2 counts), quarter rest (1 count), eighth rest (½ count) and sixteenth rest (¼ count). For faster passages there are also the thirty-second rest and smaller.

Question 5

How do I practice note values and rests on drums?

Accepted Answer

Count along out loud (1 and 2 and 3 and 4) and play or remain silent on the correct beat. Practice slowly with a metronome and build up the tempo. Do you really want to master this? During a drum lesson we immediately put rhythm and note reading into practice.

Symbol	Name (English)	Type	Meaning / duration (4/4)
	Whole note	Note	Lasts 4 beats: a full bar in 4/4.
	Half note	Note	Lasts 2 beats. Two half notes make one bar.
	Quarter note	Note	Lasts 1 beat. Four quarter notes is one measure in 4/4.
	Eighth note	Note	Lasts ½ beat. Eight eighths is one measure in 4/4.
	Sixteenth note	Note	Lasts ¼ beat. Sixteen sixteenths is one measure.
	Thirty-second note	Note	Lasts ⅛ of a beat. Often used in fast passages.
	Dotted quarter note	Note	Quarter note (1 beat) + half its value (0.5 beat) = 1.5 beats.
	Dotted eighth	Note	Eighth note (0.5 beat) + half its value (0.25 beat) = 0.75 beats.
	Whole rest	Rest	Silence for 4 beats.
	Half rest	Rest	Silence for 2 beats.
	Quarter rest	Rest	Silence for 1 beat.
	Eighth rest	Rest	Silence for ½ a beat.
	Sixteenth rest	Rest	Silence for ¼ of a beat.
	Treble clef	Clef	For higher notes on the staff.
	Bass clef	Clef	For lower notes (bass line, left hand piano).

Musical notes & rests

Questions about notes and rests