Music theory worksheet · Rests
Note and Rest Math
Add the beats of the notes and the rests and write the total. A quarter note gets one beat.
- Grade level
- Grades 3–4
- Time
- About 20 minutes
- Topic
- Rests
- Answer key
- Yes, page 2 of the PDF
- Kids practice
- Naming whole, half, quarter and eighth rests, Matching each rest to the note of the same length, Counting beats of silence, Telling the whole rest from the half rest
What kids do
Printed on the sheet:
- Add the beats of sound and the beats of silence. Write the total number of beats in the box.
Teacher tip
Have kids circle the rests in one color and the notes in another before they add. Both count toward the total.
How to use it
- Teach that a rest is counted just like a note. The beat goes on, but you make no sound.
- Show the hat trick: the half rest sits on a line like a hat, and the whole rest hangs down like a hole.
- Let kids work in pairs and check each other before you show the answer key.
Watch for
Mixing up the whole rest and the half rest. Whole hangs down, half sits up.
Talk about it
- Why do composers put silence in music?
- What does this symbol tell a musician to do?
Take it further
Play a freeze game: move on the notes and freeze on the rests.
US Letter, prints well in black and white. Free for home and classroom use: print as many copies as you need.
More rests worksheets
Grades 1–3
Note and Rest Partners
Every note has a rest that lasts just as long. Draw a line from each note to its partner rest.
Grades 2–3
Beats of Silence
Write how many beats of silence each rest gets when a quarter rest gets one beat.
Grades 2–3
Whole Rest or Half Rest?
A whole rest hangs under the line like a hole. A half rest sits on the line like a hat. Write W or H under each rest.
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