rests?

[the_mantis]

could someone explain to me please how 'rests' work in written music. what i can't understand is why some are 1/4 note rests, while some others are 1/8 note rests and then some others are 1/16 note rests. i can't see the connection. Sometimes there will be a 1/8 note rest on the bass drum space, yet the corresponding hi-hat note is a 1/4 note. the other thing is why do they have to be put in? why not just leave a space, like you see in other parts of the measure?

[con struct]

could someone explain to me please how 'rests' work in written music. what i can't understand is why some are 1/4 note rests, while some others are 1/8 note rests and then some others are 1/16 note rests. i can't see the connection. Sometimes there will be a 1/8 note rest on the bass drum space, yet the corresponding hi-hat note is a 1/4 note. the other thing is why do they have to be put in? why not just leave a space, like you see in other parts of the measure?

http://www.musictechteacher.com/quiz_help_rhythm_rest1.htm

[larryace]

You have to account for all the time within the measure , if you add up everything in a measure (rests included) it will equal 4 beats (1 e and a, 2 e and a, 3 e and a, 4 e and a)
(assuming 4/4 time of course)

[DJBonebrake]

I'll try my best. There is a rest sign that corresponds to each note value; whole note, half note, quarter note, eighth note, etc. In drum set music sometimes they will connect the various instruments (meaning, hihat, snare, bass drum) together. Ex. If there are quarters on the hihat and the kick is on the off beat they might connect them as in a group of eighth notes but with the connecting bar slanting down. Other times you have to think of the instruments as being separate.(As in two different instruments playing at the same time).So they will put quarter notes on the top of the staff (representing the hihat) and below on the bass drum line (if we are writing the same rhythm) they will write eighth rest, eighth note, eighth rest, eighth note, etc. four times total if we are in common time (4/4 time). It gets more complex as they add instruments to the mix (snare, toms, cowbells). A lot of times they will utilize a combo of these two ways of writing. Believe it or not, the idea is to make it as visually clear as possible. Good luck. I hope the explanation was clearer than the page of music you were trying to read!
DJ

[the_mantis]

thanks conrad, it does make a bit more sense.

[the_mantis]

hey larryace, is it only the hi-hat line and bass drum space where the measure has to add up to 4 beats, rests included. my book doesn't show rests in the snare drum space. Does it not have to add up to 4 beats with rests also, is this because its the back beat?

[Boomka]

hey larryace, is it only the hi-hat line and bass drum space where the measure has to add up to 4 beats, rests included. my book doesn't show rests in the snare drum space. Does it not have to add up to 4 beats with rests also, is this because its the back beat?

It's not that each individual instrument's notes/rests must add up to the time signature, it's that each system of notes must add up to the time signature. Chances are that your snare drum part is written with the stems up along with the hihat, right? That means that the snare drum and hihat constitute a "system" and for the purposes of adding up the notes/rests, both must be considered. Similarly, any instrument with the stems pointing downward (usually notes played with the feet like the HH or BD) would constitute part of a second system and the notes/rests played by those instruments must add up to the time signature.

The convention of writing parts played with the hands with upward stems and parts played with the feet with downward stems is for ease of reading as it keeps the middle of the stave relatively free of stems, etc.

[the_mantis]

brilliant explanation, i get it now, thankyou boomka

[larryace]

I guess my last reply was incomplete. I meant to say that each individual line adds up to 4 beats.
I treat each line as a different instrument, since it is really