Meaning & use
sixteenth rest
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Meaning
nouncountablemusictechnical
A musical symbol meaning silence for the length of a sixteenth note, shown by a vertical line with two flags.
Grammar: Countable: write a sixteenth rest, several sixteenth rests.
Patterns
- a sixteenth rest in the bar
The drummer counted a sixteenth rest before hitting the snare again.
A sixteenth rest lasts a quarter of a beat in four-four time.
The piano part has a sixteenth rest after each short note, creating a staccato feel.
Word forms
| plural | sixteenth rests |
|---|
Common combinations
- a sixteenth rest
- Put a sixteenth rest after the second note.
- count a sixteenth rest
- Students must count a sixteenth rest carefully.
- a sixteenth rest and a sixteenth note
- The rhythm alternates between a sixteenth rest and a sixteenth note.
- draw a sixteenth rest
- Draw a sixteenth rest with two flags on the line.
- sixteenth rest symbol
- The sixteenth rest symbol looks like a slanted line with two small flags.
Synonyms and how they differ
- semiquaver rest
- Semiquaver rest is the British name for the same symbol.
- eighth rest
- An eighth rest lasts twice as long as a sixteenth rest.
- quarter rest
- A quarter rest lasts four times as long as a sixteenth rest.
Word family
Commonly confused: sixteenth rest or sixteenth note?
sixteenth rest vs sixteenth note
A sixteenth note is played, while a sixteenth rest is silent. They last the same time.
Practice
In four-four time, how many sixteenth rests fit into one quarter-note beat?
Choose one answer.
Four sixteenth rests fill one quarter-note beat. Two would equal an eighth note and sixteen would equal a whole note.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “sixteenth rest”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.