Whole rest: symbol and how long it lasts
A whole rest is a small filled rectangle hanging below the fourth line of the staff. In 4/4 it lasts 4 beats, and in any time signature it can mean a full measure of silence. It is called a semibreve rest in British English.
The whole rest is the longest rest in music, and it is easy to spot once you know where to look. It is a short, thick, black rectangle that hangs down from a staff line, like a small hole or a hanging sign. It matches the whole note, so in 4/4 it means four beats of silence.
What does a whole rest look like?
A whole rest is a filled rectangle about half the height of a staff space. It hangs from the underside of the fourth line, counting from the bottom of the staff. When you see a black block under a line, it is a whole rest.
How many beats does a whole rest get?
In 4/4 a whole rest gets 4 beats. This is the same length as a whole note, so one whole rest fills a complete measure. In 2/2 or cut time, where the half note gets the beat, the whole note and the whole rest both last 2 beats.
The whole rest is special because it can also mean "a full measure of silence" in any time signature. In 3/4 time a whole rest lasts 3 beats. In 2/4 it lasts 2 beats. In 6/8 it lasts the whole measure of six eighths. This is the only rest that works this way. Every other rest has a fixed length, but the whole rest fits the measure it sits in.
| Time signature | Beat note | Length of a whole rest |
|---|---|---|
| 4/4 | Quarter | 4 beats |
| 3/4 | Quarter | 3 beats (a full measure) |
| 2/4 | Quarter | 2 beats (a full measure) |
| 2/2 (cut time) | Half | 2 beats (a full measure) |
The memory trick for whole and half rests
The whole rest and the half rest are identical rectangles in different places. The whole rest hangs below the line, and the half rest sits on top of the line. A common trick is "hat and hole": the half rest is a hat sitting on the middle line, and the whole rest is a hole hanging down from the fourth line.
Memory trick: Whole rest means hole, which hangs down. Half rest means hat, which sits on top. If it sinks below the line, it is the longer rest.
How to count a whole rest
Count "1 2 3 4" in 4/4 and stay silent for all four counts. In other time signatures, count to the number of beats in the measure. Keep your foot tapping through the whole rest so that you come back in on time. In group playing, the conductor's beat keeps everyone together during long rests.
Whole rests for several measures
When a part rests for many measures in a row, printed music often joins them into a single bar, called a multi-measure rest. It looks like a thick horizontal line with a number above it that says how many measures to count. For example, a 4 means count four measures of silence. A single measure of rest, though, is always written with the whole rest symbol.
If you play in a band or orchestra, counting these measures is a skill in itself. Many players keep track by counting the number of measures on their fingers, or by writing small marks in the part to mark the count.
Whole rest, semibreve rest and other names
In British English the whole rest is called a semibreve rest. The symbol is the same everywhere. Some books call a measure rest a "bar rest" since the British word for measure is bar.
How the whole rest relates to other rests
A whole rest is as long as two half rests or four quarter rests in 4/4. The matching sounding value is the whole note. You can see all of the silent symbols together on the rests page.
Whole rests are also a clue about the shape of a piece. A page with a whole rest in nearly every measure of a part tells you that instrument is waiting while others play. Learning to read these quiet bars calmly is part of being a good ensemble player, because the entrance after the silence must be exactly in time.
Common mistakes
- Mixing it up with the half rest. Hanging below the line is whole; sitting on top is half.
- Counting a whole rest as 4 beats in 3/4. It means one full measure, which is 3 beats.
- Stopping the count too early. Count the full measure.
Next, review note values, or study the shorter silences on the half rest and quarter rest pages.
Check yourself
1. Where does a whole rest hang?
Answer: Below the fourth line. The whole rest hangs below the fourth line of the staff, counting from the bottom.
2. How many beats does a whole rest get in 4/4?
Answer: 4. A whole rest matches the whole note, which lasts four beats in 4/4.
3. What does a whole rest mean in 3/4?
Answer: A full measure, 3 beats. A whole rest means a full measure of silence in any time signature.
4. What is the British name for a whole rest?
Answer: Semibreve rest. Semibreve is the British name for the whole note, and so for its rest.
5. What is shown in the second measure?
Answer: Whole rest. A black rectangle hanging below a line is a whole rest.