rests would be history

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keannu

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What kind of pun is this "rests would be history" and what does it mean?

ex)mo3-26
It is a common misconception among many musicians and non-musicians alike that . This is not surprising as it is natural to associate music with the sounds that create the melody, rather than with the quiet spaces between the notes. Because rests are silent, people often misinterpret these empty spaces as unimportant. But, imagine what would happen if a song was made up of only notes, and no rests.
Aside from the fact that the “rests would be history” (pun intended), there would be a wall of sound with no reference point or discernible backbone to the music. This is because the spaces between the sounds provide a baseline and contrast for the piece, and give music structure and texture...
 

SlickVic9000

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(not a teacher)

The kind of pun that teeters on a precipice called "Clever", above an infinite abyss called "Corny".
 

keannu

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Sorry, I don't get it. What does "history" here mean as a pun?
 

Amigos4

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keannu

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Sorry, the link shows many things, so can you just a brief explanation about it right here?
 

White Hat

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You've got to do some research on your own.

We open up a dictionary and look it up:
the rest is history - everyone knows what happened next; everything which happened since then is well known

Now, in your text, they are talking about the importance of paying attention to "the quiet spaces", which they call "the rests" in songs.
"To be history" also means "to disappear", "to be finished".

So the author is trying to say: You know what's going to happen next - the rests will DISAPPEAR and the melody will turn chaotic.

Just my two cents here.
 
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