Rests are one of those things that are really undervalued in western music and piano players, in my opinion, are the worst at valuing the function of rests.
So rests are an indication of nothing that makes them truly something. I know that it seems like I have contradicted myself here, but I have not really, I just enjoy the play on words! To be absolutely clear, rests are an indication of silence, which really means that there are gaps of no notes being played at all, being inserted into the music.
So many piano students really don’t appreciate what rests can achieve – it can make a piece of music sound more dramatic or more surprising. The result of rests can make sure that the timing and rhythm of a piece of music is not distorted. Rests can also give music a more spacious, ethereal feel to it and the addition of rests can help the overall sound of the music get softer and quieter. Rests can really assist in achieving just about any mood or style you care to name.
I remember clearly when I was at University and I did a subject called Ethnomusicology, which is the study of non Western Music traditions and each week was something different. One week’s lecture was on traditional Japanese music and the lecturer, who was an expert on Japanese music started the lecture with this sentence: “In Japanese music, it is considered that the perfection of music is silence.” That one sentence blew my mind and made me realize that our western traditions of music is really the opposite – more instruments, more harmony, more notes and chords. Traditional Japanese music often sounds very light and also feels very relaxing. By having this brief insight into another culture’s music traditions and philosophy, it made me realize and appreciate more fully the function of rests and how by the brief absences of sound can dramatically alter the entire sound and feel of a piece of music.
I am grateful that two of my kids learn band instruments because they have reinforced for me the significance of rests. One of my kids plays the trombone and the other plays the tenor saxophone. Through hearing them practice and converse about their music (they are both in the same school band) I have come to realize that other instrumentalists value rests much more than piano players do, because if they skip or ignore a rest, they then are likely to play at the wrong time and have the potential to ruin a performance.
I also think that piano players under value rests because rests are written for each hand, so while their might be a rest in the right hand, the left hand is often still playing. It does happen that the small gaps of silence are created in piano music when both hands have a rest at the same time, but it is not as common as having a rest in the music for only one hand.
So my point is; pay attention to the rests in your music because they have a significant impact on the overall sound of the piece – they are definitely not an optional extra.