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Glite Dictionary
whole rest

whole rest

4.0
A silent part in music that usually lasts four beats
  • noun
  • /hoʊl rɛst/
  • Specialized
translation icon : silencio entero
  • The first line of music began with a whole note followed by a whole rest, during which I dutifully counted to four.

Examples

  • The piece of music has a long pause, indicated by a whole rest, lasting four beats.

  • During the performance, the conductor signaled a whole rest, allowing the musicians to take a breath.

  • It continued with the same whole note, followed by another whole rest, which concluded the line.

    Academic text (2006)

  • After the solo, there was a whole rest that created a moment of silence in the composition.

Synonyms

rest
vswhole rest
  • Specialized
6 5.5

A musical sign that shows a period of silence

denotes a silence that lasts four beats in common time

Antonyms

half rest
  • Specialized
6.1

A short silence in music that lasts two beats

How Long

whole rest
  • Specialized
4.0
half rest
  • Specialized
6.1
quarter rest
  • Specialized
4.7

Surface Forms

whole rest singular
whole rests plural

Morphology

whole + rest

The constituents 'whole' (complete/full) and 'rest' (a pause/silence) give a clear compositional cue that this is a full-length or complete rest, so a learner can guess it denotes a long pause in music. However, the precise meaning (duration = a whole note, typically four beats) depends on specific musical knowledge and notation conventions, so the sense is not fully predictable from the words alone.

Etymology

Whole rest comes from basic music words: whole means the full note or full measure and rest means 'silence'. So a whole rest tells musicians to play nothing for that entire note or measure, usually four beats, which is why it means a silence lasting a whole note.