Rests
A rest is used to indicate a specific period of silence. The following diagrams demonstrate three different rest values. The quarter rest is worth one beat of silence, the half rest is worth two beats of silence and the whole rest is worth a whole bar of silence. Small counting numbers are placed under rests. Note that the half rest sits on top of the middle line of the staff, while the whole rest hangs below the fourth line.
When a rest occurs after you have played a note, you must stop the note sounding, i.e., stop the strings vibrating. This can be done by placing your left hand fingers lightly across all the strings. Do not press too hard as this will produce a new note. This muting technique is also useful to stop previously played notes sounding at the same time as a new note is played.
When chords are played, rests are achieved by stopping all four strings sounding by placing the edge of the right hand over the strings (as shown in the photograph).
This example demonstrates the use of quarter rests along with quarter notes.
Staccato
A dot above or below a note or chord indicates that the note or chord is to be played staccato, which means short and separate from other notes or chords.
