Whole rest
The whole rest is the sign of silence worth a whole note, in four-four time so four beats. It is also used when a whole bar is silent, whatever time signature is set. A small block that hangs below a staff line.
- Duration
- as long as a whole note
- In 4/4
- 4 beats
- Sign
- small block hanging below the fourth line
- Special feature
- stands for a whole empty bar, also in other time signatures
- Corresponds to
- whole note
Silence for a whole bar
On the page Rhythm the whole rest is shown next to its note: it corresponds to the whole note and lasts four beats in 4/4. The symbol library describes it as four beats of silence in 4/4. In addition it marks an empty bar in all time signatures. That is its most important special feature: where a whole bar is silent, you set the whole rest, even if the bar does not consist of four quarter notes.
| Rest | Position in the staff | Duration in 4/4 |
|---|---|---|
| Whole rest | hangs below the fourth line from the bottom | 4 beats |
| Half rest | sits on the middle line | 2 beats |
| Quarter rest | zigzag in the middle of the staff | 1 beat |
| Eighth rest | slanting stroke with a flag | ½ beat |
How to recognise it
The whole rest hangs as a small block from a line, the half rest sits on one. The symbol library gives a memory aid: “the hat hangs on the hook”. The whole rest hangs from the line, while the half rest sits on it like a hat.
Examples from the sheet music archive
All three examples show whole rests as a bar without a note in one voice.
Voice and piano
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Der Tod und das Mädchen Franz Schubert, D. 531 · voice and piano · 2 pages
The vocal line is silent in the first seven bars. Each of these bars is filled with a whole rest while the piano plays. The piece is in alla breve time.
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Die junge Nonne Franz Schubert, D. 828 · voice and piano · 7 pages
In 12/8 the vocal line is likewise silent in bars 1 to 8 with whole rests. Here a whole rest fills a bar of twelve eighth notes, not four beats: the sign stands for the duration of the bar, not for a fixed number of beats.
Piano
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In der Halle des Bergkönigs Edvard Grieg, op. 46 No. 4 · piano · 4 pages
On the last page the right hand has whole rests in bars 86 and 87, while the left hand goes on with its figure. In the last bar (88) it enters again with ff.
Several bars of rest
The symbol library also shows the multi-bar rest: a thick horizontal bar with a number above it sums up several empty bars. If you rest in an ensemble, you then count the bars and watches out carefully for the entry.
Continue on Maikstrings
Related terms
Half restQuarter restEighth restRestWhole noteNote valueBar / measureTime signatureGeneral pause
Editor: Maik Krohm · reviewed on 3 October 2026
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