Tacet is

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

which translates literally into English as "(it) is silent" (pronounced: , , or ). It is a musical term to indicate that an instrument or voice does not sound, also known as a

rest Rest or REST may refer to: Relief from activity * Sleep ** Bed rest * Kneeling * Lying (position) * Sitting * Squatting position Structural support * Structural support ** Rest (cue sports) ** Armrest ** Headrest ** Footrest Arts and entert ...

. In vocal polyphony and in orchestral scores, it usually indicates a long period of time, typically an entire

movement Movement may refer to: Common uses * Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece * Motion, commonly referred to as movement Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * "Movement" (short story), a short story by Nancy Fu ...

. In more modern music such as

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

, tacet tends to mark considerably shorter breaks. Multirests, or multiple-measure rests, are rests which last multiple

measures Measure may refer to: * Measurement, the assignment of a number to a characteristic of an object or event Law * Ballot measure, proposed legislation in the United States * Church of England Measure, legislation of the Church of England * Measu ...

(or multiple rests, each of which lasts an entire measure). Tacet Sheetmusic

It was common for early symphonies to leave out the

brass Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other with ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

in certain movements, especially in slow (second) movements, and this is the instruction given in the parts for the player to wait until the end of the movement. Old multirests

It is also commonly used in

accompaniment Accompaniment is the musical part which provides the rhythmic and/or harmonic support for the melody or main themes of a song or instrumental piece. There are many different styles and types of accompaniment in different genres and styles ...

music to indicate that the instrument does not play on a certain run through a portion of the music, e.g. "Tacet 1st time." The phrase ''tacet al fine'' is used to indicate that the performer should remain silent for the remainder of the piece (or portion thereof), and need not, for example, count rests. Tacet may be appropriate when a particular instrument/voice/section, "is to rest for an entire section, movement, or composition." "Partial rests, of course, in every case must be written in. Even though it means 'silent,' the term ''tacet''...is not a wise substitution for a lengthy rest within a movement...The term ''tacet'', therefore, should be used ''only'' to indicate that a player rests throughout an . "N.C." ("no chord"Bissell, Patricia Melcher (2017). ''Classroom Keyboard: Play and Create Melodies with Chords'', p. 41. Rowman & Littlefield. .) is often used in

guitar tablature Tablature (or tabulature, or tab for short) is a form of musical notation indicating instrument fingering rather than musical pitches. Tablature is common for fretted stringed instruments such as the guitar, lute or vihuela, as well as many fre ...

chord chart A chord chart (or chart) is a form of musical notation that describes the basic harmonic and rhythmic information for a song or tune. It is the most common form of notation used by professional session musicians playing jazz or popular music. It i ...

s to indicate tacets, rests, or

caesura image:Music-caesura.svg, 300px, An example of a caesura in modern western music notation A caesura (, . caesuras or caesurae; Latin for "cutting"), also written cæsura and cesura, is a Metre (poetry), metrical pause or break in a Verse (poetry), ...

s in the accompaniment.

Uses of tacet

The earliest known usage of the term is 1724. A unique usage of this term is in John Cage's 1952 composition

4′33″ ''4′33″'' (pronounced "four minutes, thirty-three seconds" or just "four thirty-three") is a three- movement composition by American experimental composer John Cage. It was composed in 1952, for any instrument or combination of instruments, ...

. Tacet is indicated for all three movements, for all instruments. The piece's first performance lasted a total of 4 minutes and 33 seconds, without a note being played.

References

{{Musical notation Musical notation Musical terminology Latin words and phrases

Uses of tacet

See also

References