A sixteenth rest equals how many beats?

A sixteenth rest equals how many beats?

• A. One quarter beat
• B. Half beat
• C. One beat
• D. Three quarters beat

Answer: (A)

In common time, rests have the same timing as the notes they replace, and the beat is defined by a quarter note. A sixteenth rest lasts the duration of a sixteenth note, which is one quarter of a beat when the beat is a quarter note. So it occupies one quarter of a beat. Think of counting a beat as four equal parts: 1 e & a. Each of those four subdivisions is a sixteenth-note value, and a sixteenth rest fills exactly one of those parts. That’s why the duration is one quarter beat. Longer rests correspond to longer note values (an eighth rest is half a beat, a quarter rest is one full beat, a dotted-half rest is three beats), but the sixteenth rest is the smallest subdivision within the beat.

In common time, rests have the same timing as the notes they replace, and the beat is defined by a quarter note. A sixteenth rest lasts the duration of a sixteenth note, which is one quarter of a beat when the beat is a quarter note. So it occupies one quarter of a beat.

Think of counting a beat as four equal parts: 1 e & a. Each of those four subdivisions is a sixteenth-note value, and a sixteenth rest fills exactly one of those parts. That’s why the duration is one quarter beat. Longer rests correspond to longer note values (an eighth rest is half a beat, a quarter rest is one full beat, a dotted-half rest is three beats), but the sixteenth rest is the smallest subdivision within the beat.