What a multi-measure rest is
A multi-measure rest is a thick horizontal bar across the middle of the staff with a number above it. The number is how many measures you rest: a “16” means sixteen full measures of silence before your next note. Count it by saying the measure number in place of beat 1 (“1 2 3 4, 2 2 3 4, 3 2 3 4”) and listen for a cue in the last few measures so you know you are in the right place.
- The number above the thick bar counts measures, not beats.
- A single whole rest means one full measure of rest in any time signature, 3/4 included.
- Count the measure number on each beat 1 and the beats after it.
- Rehearsal marks, cue notes and the conductor are how you check your count.
Band and orchestra parts are full of these, because your part shows only your notes. While you count, the rest of the group is playing music you cannot see. Some older editions write short rests as thick blocks between the staff lines instead: a block filling one space is two measures, a block filling two spaces is four.
How to count it
Replace the “1” of each measure with the measure number. In 4/4: “1 2 3 4, 2 2 3 4, 3 2 3 4, 4 2 3 4”. In 3/4: “1 2 3, 2 2 3, 3 2 3”. You always know which measure you are in, and you still feel every beat, so you notice when the tempo changes.
Start at “1” on the first measure of the rest, not on the measure you just played. Counting your last playing measure as “1” is the most common miss, and it brings you in a measure early.
Keep track on your fingers, folding one for each measure. Most music moves in phrases of four and eight measures, so groups of four are easy to feel. If your count says 7 but the music has clearly just finished a phrase, you are probably a measure off.
Check your count against landmarks
Counting alone drifts. These tell you where you really are:
- Rehearsal marks. The boxed letters or numbers. A long rest is usually split at each one, so 24 measures might be printed as an 8 and a 16 with letter C between them. When the band reaches C, so do you.
- Cue notes. Small notes in your part with another instrument’s name above them, such as “Fl.” or “Tpt.”. You do not play them. They show what you will hear just before you come in.
- Changes inside the rest. A new key signature, time signature or tempo mark also splits a rest. Read it before you come in, not after.
- The conductor. A hold or a slowdown in the other parts may not appear in yours. Watch the conductor through the last few measures. If the band holds a note, your count waits too.
If you lose count
It happens to everyone. Do not guess and come in alone. Stay ready, listen for the next landmark (a rehearsal mark, your cue, the start of a new section) and come in there. After the piece, ask your stand partner or section leader where you lost it.
Then pencil it in so it does not happen twice: “flute solo”, “4 after C” or a big arrow above the measure where you come in. Directors expect penciled parts.
Practicing rests at home
Rests are hard to practice alone, because the music you count through is not in your part. Two things work. Play along with a recording of the whole piece and count every rest out loud. Or practice the entrance itself: count the last four measures of the rest with a metronome, breathe on the beat before, and come in. Five times in a row, and the entrance becomes automatic.
If you scan your part into Sheetly, a long rest plays out one measure at a time with a counter on screen (3 / 16, then 4 / 16 and so on), so at home you count through the rest and practice coming in after it, the way you will in rehearsal, instead of skipping straight to your next note.
Count the rest before rehearsal does.
Scan your part, play it with every long rest counted out on screen, and practice the entrance at any tempo. Free to download on iPhone and iPad.
Free to download · iPhone and iPad · Android on the way
Questions
What does a number above a rest mean?
A number above a thick horizontal bar on the staff marks a multi-measure rest: it tells you how many full measures to rest. A 12 means twelve measures of silence. Count them one at a time, ideally by saying the measure number on each beat 1, and come in on the measure after the last one.
What is the difference between a whole rest and a multi-measure rest?
A whole rest, the small block hanging from the fourth line of the staff, means rest for one whole measure in any time signature. A multi-measure rest is a thick bar across the staff with a number above it, and it means rest for that many measures.
What are cue notes?
Cue notes are small notes printed in your part that show what another instrument plays, usually during your rest, with that instrument’s name above them. You do not play them unless your director tells you to. They are there so you can hear where you are and come in on time.
How do you not lose count during long rests?
Say the measure number in place of each beat 1, fold a finger for each measure, and check your count against the rehearsal marks and cue notes printed in your part. Watch the conductor in the last few measures. If you do lose count, wait for the next rehearsal mark or cue and come in there rather than guessing.