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Types of musical SILENCES

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Types of musical silences

Communication is based on language and language is a set of symbols of which we know their meaning. By combining them, we can create words, then sentences, then paragraphs, and with it ideas. Let us remember that just as in written and spoken language we make pauses, in music this is also of utmost importance for separate ideas or emphasize specific points. Silence is also a way of saying something even if we don't hear anything and it can even be more shocking than the sound itself. In this lesson from a TEACHER we will talk about types of musical silences.

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Index

  1. What is silence in music
  2. The different types of musical silences and their symbols
  3. The dot as musical silence
  4. Waiting bars in music

What is silence in music.

In a very simple way we can say that musical silence is when no note is played or remains sounding, is the absence of sound. In music we have a writing and value system that we place on the staff to be able to read a rhythm or a melody. Just as we have notes with tuning, we also have indications not to play anything.

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We may think that in music the only important thing is the sound, but the reality is that as in everything, we need a point of contrast to give value to the opposites. We can say that sound exists because we know the opposite, silence.

Apart from the rest of the sound, the silence is also similar to punctuation marks In literature, we know that a sentence has finished because there is a point. In the same way, we know that a musical phrase has finished when there is silence.

In musical works or songs with more instruments, silences are important to tell musicians when to play and when to be quiet. It is this order that lets us hear each musician and what directs our attention to specific sounds. Otherwise, if there was no silence and all the musicians were playing at the same time, we would probably not be able to distinguish any specific musical idea.

Types of musical silences - What is silence in music

Image: ArtsMúsica

The different types of musical silences and their symbols.

In musical writing there is a system with values, this is the principle of rhythm. The rhythm is a succession of notes and each one of these can last different depending on its musical figure. Each musical figure has a specific symbol to recognize it and this is how we can differentiate them when reading music on the staff. To know the types of silence we must first know the types of figure, since for each musical figure there is an equivalent silence.

As well as the figures of the notes, silences have their own symbols to indicate the duration. The longest rhythmic musical figure is the roundand lasts 4 times. From it we can indicate the rest of the figures, from long to short.

As we are talking about silences, we add that specification to the name of the figure. For example, if the figure we are talking about is a black, the equivalent silence is called: black silence. This is how we obtain the following types of musical silences:

  • Silence of Redonda: 4 times.
  • Silence from Blanca: 2 times.
  • Silence of Negra: 1 time.
  • Eighth note silence: ½ time.
  • Semi-eighth note silence: ¼ of time.
  • Silence of Fusa: 1/16 of the time
  • Silence of Semi-fusa: 1/32 of the time.

The figures that we have mentioned before are of binary base (numerical base of 2), but there are also figures of ternary base (numerical base of 3)

  • Silence of Tresillo: 1/3 of the time.
  • Silence of Sextillo: 1/6 of the time.

At the same time, based on these ternary figures we also have longer figures:

  • Silence by Tresillo de Negra: Equivalent to 2 triplet rests.
  • Silence of Tresillo de Blanca: Equivalent to 2 quarter note triplet rests.

The dot as musical silence.

Within the types of musical silences we also have the "punctilio", which is a dot that is placed next to the symbol to indicate that it lasts for its entirety plus half its duration. A couple of examples:

White's silence with dot

2 times + ½ white time (1 time). Total: 3 times.

Silence of Negra with dot

1 beat + ½ quarter note (1/2 beat). Total: 1 ½ times.

Waiting bars in music.

To finish this lesson on the different types of musical rests, we will now talk about waiting measures.

When several musicians play in a group it is likely that not all will play simultaneously and for the entire duration of the work or song, that is when some of the members must remain quietly and wait for the part of it to come. We call those moments of long duration where the musician does not play his instrument for several measures. “Waiting bars”.

The waiting bars it can be just 2 bars, but sometimes these are many and it is not practical to place each of the bars knowing that they are all silent. In this case, a symbol is placed that occupies an entire measure and that has a number in the upper part indicating how many measures should remain silent.

Just because sound is absent does not mean that we are not making music. Silence and sound are two sides of the same coin and we couldn't create expressive works without both.

If you want to read more articles similar to Types of musical silences, we recommend that you enter our category of Musical language.

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