Tacet

Tacet ( lat. He / she / it is silent) is a playing instruction in music .

It means that the instrumentalist or singer is pausing in the section marked with tacet . Usually this section is a movement of a multi-movement piece of music. If this designation appears at the end of a musical phrase in a score , it means that the instrumentalist concerned will remain silent until the end of the current section.

The instruction tacet should not be confused with a rhythmically defined pause after which the musician starts again.

The piece of music 4'33 " by John Cage , which is sometimes also called Tacet , is an extreme example of this musical term.