Eighth rest

A slanted stroke with one flag-like hook, half a beat of silence.

Also known as: Quaver rest, Rest with a hook, Number 7 music symbol

MusicalEveryday & digitalStandard profile

Meanings

The eighth rest is a diagonal stroke with one blob-tipped hook. Each further hook halves the silence again, exactly as flags do for notes.

Common modern usageVerified fact
Indicates half a beat of silence in common time.
Contexts: Music
Common modern usageVerified fact
Gains an extra hook for each halving, so a sixteenth rest has two and a thirty-second three — the same counting rule as note flags.
Contexts: Music

A stroke slanting down to the left with a small filled blob at its top right, joined by a short curve, resembling a figure seven with a rounded head.

IdentityHigh confidence: High confidence because the identity is documented in encyclopedic references.
Historical originModerate confidence: Moderate confidence because the historical origin is documented in encyclopedic references, but early or supporting evidence is limited, but the regional or cultural match to this specific claim is not precise.
Current useHigh confidence: High confidence because the current use is documented in encyclopedic references.
Visual matchHigh confidence: High confidence because the visual match is documented in encyclopedic references.

Note value
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-08-01
Tertiary reference. Used for what a mark instructs a performer to do and for uncontested history, never for a claim that any body defines staff notation.
Rest (music)
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-08-01
Tertiary reference. Used for what a mark instructs a performer to do and for uncontested history, never for a claim that any body defines staff notation.

Last reviewed 2026-07-31

Meanings

The eighth rest is a diagonal stroke with one blob-tipped hook. Each further hook halves the silence again, exactly as flags do for notes.

Common modern usageVerified fact

Indicates half a beat of silence in common time.

Contexts: Music

Common modern usageVerified fact

Gains an extra hook for each halving, so a sixteenth rest has two and a thirty-second three — the same counting rule as note flags.

Contexts: Music

Confidence

IdentityHigh confidence: High confidence because the identity is documented in encyclopedic references.
Historical originModerate confidence: Moderate confidence because the historical origin is documented in encyclopedic references, but early or supporting evidence is limited, but the regional or cultural match to this specific claim is not precise.
Current useHigh confidence: High confidence because the current use is documented in encyclopedic references.
Visual matchHigh confidence: High confidence because the visual match is documented in encyclopedic references.

Sources

Note value
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-08-01
Tertiary reference. Used for what a mark instructs a performer to do and for uncontested history, never for a claim that any body defines staff notation.
Rest (music)
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-08-01
Tertiary reference. Used for what a mark instructs a performer to do and for uncontested history, never for a claim that any body defines staff notation.

Last reviewed 2026-07-31