Half rest

What it means

The half rest (German Halbe Pause) designates a silence of the duration of a half note, that is, two quarter notes in 4/4 time. Unlike the whole rest, which stands for a complete bar, it always applies to its actual value — a distinction that matters when reading.

In the series of rests it stands between the whole rest and the quarter rest. Dotted it yields three quarter notes; in practice, however, such combinations are usually broken down into several rests so that the beats remain visible in the notation.

In the notation

The sign is a small filled bar that sits on the third line of the staff. The whole rest, by contrast, hangs below the fourth line. Both signs look almost alike, and confusing them is among the most common reading mistakes of all. A mnemonic is the picture that the longer rest is heavier and therefore hangs down, while the shorter one sits on top.

In multi-voice staves the rest is displaced upward or downward to keep the voices apart.

Musical use

Half rests articulate movements in larger units: they stand between phrases, before new entries, and in parts that are silent for sections. In choral writing they often mark the place where a voice drops out while others carry on. In slow movements they act as a distinct caesura, because the silence lasts long at a calm tempo.

In German it is called Halbe Pause. A mnemonic is that the half rest sits on the line like a hat, the whole one hangs below. In 4/4 time it fills exactly half a bar.

Performance practice

Count out the two beats exactly; in practice rests are taken too short more often than too long. Dot them only where the metre allows, and watch for the correct position when copying. Use the rest to prepare the following entry instead of merely waiting it out. And take care that the preceding note ends cleanly: a rest is only a rest when no sound remains.