Two key symbols permeate a musical score—notes and rests. Notes represent the sounds (or pitches) we hear, while rests represent the sounds we don't hear. Rests indicate the absence of a sounding note, but they are very much part of the music. 

Every note value has an equivalent rest value. Quarter notes and quarter rests occupy the same amount of time, as do half notes and half rests, whole notes and whole rests, and so on. But while we count notes and rests in the same way, they are in a sense, opposites. They don't look very alike, either. 

With the help of Ulysses the Unicyclist, this video explores musical rests—what they look like, what they mean, and their durational values.