Double whole rest (breve rest)
A double whole rest, or breve rest, gives twice the duration of a whole rest. In modern notation it is uncommon as an ordinary rhythmic value, but it also appears in older styles of multi-bar rest notation.
- Notes and rests
- On the staff itself
- A straight line
Do not confuse it with
A whole rest is a block hanging from one line; the breve rest is a taller filled block spanning a staff space.
What the sources say
- Notating Rhythm — Rest Values
A breve rest is equivalent in length to two whole rests. It looks like a filled-in box and appears on the second space from the top.
- Chapter 1: Notation
The breve (sometimes called ‘double whole note’) is not widely used in music notation today
- Dorico Elements — Multi-bar rests
In some older published scores, multi-bar rests for up to nine bars are notated using a combination of double whole and whole rests.