I was wondering if anyone knows the historical reason for the "backward" quaver rest, which is an alternative to the crotchet rest?

I was always taught that it's just easier to write it this way, because the normal crotchet rest is a bit fiddly. However, my dad reckons that he was taught it is a "backward" letter "r", which of course stands for "rest".

Who do you think is right? (Or perhaps we both are, or even neither of us!)

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I was taught to write the crotchet rest as a backwards quaver one, and have only started writing it as a squiggly line since teaching theory. I don't know the historical reason but I teach it as a squiggly line as the backward quaver rest is too easy to confuse with the normal quaver rest.

What about printed music though? I have several pieces which use the "backwards seven" format.

In the AB music theory books it does show both ways of writing a crotchet rest and I always tell my pupils about both ways, but still tend to encourage them to use the squiggly one.

I was taught that the backward quaver (or crotchet) rest is like a funny shaped "c" for "crotchet" (if that makes sense ). I've always remembered this and it stopped me getting confused when I was younger.

I never knew about the backwards one... I've always used the squiggly one, not that I used to be able to draw it!

This is what I know as the old crotchet rest - I'm afraid I can't see that it looks like a funny shaped "c" though - it's exactly the same as the quaver rest only the other way round, which is why I felt it might be a bit confusing.
[url=]crotchet rest[/url]

Don't know what happened to the transfer from Photobucket!!!

Oh yes- I can see the funny shaped C (for crotchet)-never thought about that before! But I wonder which came first then- I suppose the "r" rest must be older?

It reminds me of the "r" shape that indicated "c" on some 16th C lute tablature that I transcribed. I associate it mostly with French music*, though I also recall meeting it in some brass band music c. 1950.

* Specifically the Saint-Saens organ symphony, which also annoyed me by using crotchet rest + quaver rest to indicate a silent beat in 12/8, rather than dotted crotchet rest. It was also necessary to use the shapes of breve and long rests to distinguish 3 from 5 bars rest.