Multi-bar rests

Multi-bar rests group two or more consecutive empty bars together into a single unit, commonly shown with a thick horizontal line positioned on the middle staff line, known as an H-bar. They can reduce the horizontal space required by multiple empty bars and can make it easier for players to find their place in the music.



Figure: A multi-bar rest representing four empty bars

Note

Multi-bar rests are split by items positioned within their range, such as system text, rehearsal marks, and holds and pauses. This includes when the items are invisible, except for hidden tempo marks, such as those input in the Time track in Play mode. However, if items are positioned at the start of the first bar in a multi-bar rest, that bar remains part of the subsequent multi-bar rest.

You can hide/show multi-bar rests in each layout independently in Dorico Pro, and you can hide/show bar number ranges below them.

By default, the multi-bar rest bar counts only appear once between the staves of grand-staff instruments.

You can find options controlling the project-wide appearance, design, width, and content of multi-bar rests on the Rests page in Engrave > Engraving Options.