Half rest
The half rest is the sign of silence worth a half note, in four-four time two beats. It looks like a small block that sits on a staff line. Together with the whole rest it forms the long rests of notation.
- Duration
- as long as a half note
- In 4/4
- 2 beats
- Corresponds to
- half note
- Sign
- small block sitting on the middle line
- Confused with
- whole rest, which hangs from the line
Two beats of silence
Every note value has a rest of the same duration with a symbol of its own. The page Rhythm sets them side by side: the half rest corresponds to the half note and lasts two beats in 4/4. That makes it half of a whole rest and double the quarter rest. Like all rests it is defined purely proportionally; how long two beats last is decided by the tempo.
| Rest | Position in the staff | Duration in 4/4 | Corresponds to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whole rest | hangs from a line | 4 beats | whole note |
| Half rest | sits on the middle line | 2 beats | half note |
| Quarter rest | zigzag | 1 beat | quarter note |
| Eighth rest | slanting stroke with a flag | ½ beat | eighth note |
Sitting on the line, not hanging
The whole and the half rest look almost the same: a flat block. The difference lies in the position. For the whole rest the symbol library gives the memory aid “a hat hangs on a hook”: it hangs from a line. The half rest, by contrast, sits like a hat on the middle line. If you confuse the two rests, you give a bar either twice or half the silence.
Examples from the sheet music archive
Voice and piano
-
Der Tod und das Mädchen Franz Schubert, D. 531 · voice and piano · 2 pages
In bar 8 the vocal line begins with rests of descending length: first a half rest, then a quarter rest, then an eighth rest. After that the girl enters with an eighth note as an upbeat. The rests fill the bar except for this last eighth note.
Piano
-
In der Halle des Bergkönigs Edvard Grieg, op. 46 No. 4 · piano · 4 pages
On the last page in bars 74 and 75 the right hand has a quarter rest each time, then a short interjection with sfz and after that a half rest. The left hand plays only on beats 1 and 2 and then rests as well, with a half rest.
How you count it
You count the two beats aloud, even if you play nothing, and tap the basic beat with your foot. Rhythm Dictation calls rests a measured stretch of time, not nothing, and names shortening long values as the most common mistake. With a half rest it is therefore worth counting “three – four” when it begins on the third beat in 4/4.
Continue on Maikstrings
Related terms
Whole restQuarter restEighth restRestHalf noteNote valueBar / measureBeat
Editor: Maik Krohm · reviewed on 3 October 2026
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