The HALF REST
The Half Rest equals the duration of a Half Note: 2 BEATS.
Half Rests sit on the middle line of the staff.
You can imagine Half Rests as being lighter than Whole Rests, not heavy enough to fall through a line or even imagine the Half Rest as a top-hat.
Displayed below, Half Rests are mixed in with notes of varied durations.
- Red lines represent the 2-beat silent duration of each Half Rest.
- Blue lines represent notes that you perform.
While resting, always continue to count all of the beats in each measure.
Play Example
Meet Cal Universal Language Rhythm Notation Music Staff Origins of the Staff
Rhythm Laboratory Notation Parts Note Heads Stems Beams Flags Note Construction
Common-Time Measures Bar-Lines Counting in Common-Time Whole, Half and Quarter Notes
Ties Dots Time-Signatures Q’s Rhythm Review Time-Signature Rules Beat Accent
Down-Beat and Up-Beat Conducting Patterns Cut-Time Common-Time Beat Emphasis
Three-Beat Measures Note Values Rhythm Workouts The ‘Cycle’ Note Equivalents
Counting Sub-Divisions “If You Can Say It, You Can Play It” Author’s Story Sub-Division Lingo
Quarter Notes with Eight Notes Adding Sixteenth Notes Notes Sharing Beams Beam Awareness Pointers
Triplets Triplet Workout Compound-Time Compound-Time Workout Music Rests
Rest and Note Equivalents Whole Rest Half Rest Quarter Rest Eighth Rest Sixteenth Rest
Dotted Rests Q’s Rest Review Process of Sub-Division Relating Rests to Notes Rhythm Exam Prep
Level 1 Rhythm Exam Level 2 Rhythm Exam Level 3 Rhythm Exam
Rhythm Laboratory Notation Parts Note Heads Stems Beams Flags Note Construction
Common-Time Measures Bar-Lines Counting in Common-Time Whole, Half and Quarter Notes
Ties Dots Time-Signatures Q’s Rhythm Review Time-Signature Rules Beat Accent
Down-Beat and Up-Beat Conducting Patterns Cut-Time Common-Time Beat Emphasis
Three-Beat Measures Note Values Rhythm Workouts The ‘Cycle’ Note Equivalents
Counting Sub-Divisions “If You Can Say It, You Can Play It” Author’s Story Sub-Division Lingo
Quarter Notes with Eight Notes Adding Sixteenth Notes Notes Sharing Beams Beam Awareness Pointers
Triplets Triplet Workout Compound-Time Compound-Time Workout Music Rests
Rest and Note Equivalents Whole Rest Half Rest Quarter Rest Eighth Rest Sixteenth Rest
Dotted Rests Q’s Rest Review Process of Sub-Division Relating Rests to Notes Rhythm Exam Prep
Level 1 Rhythm Exam Level 2 Rhythm Exam Level 3 Rhythm Exam