The Musical Instruction For Total Silence

Tacet is a formal musical command that literally means it is silent. Instead of just a brief pause, it instructs a performer to remain completely quiet for an entire movement of a piece.

While musicians usually spend their time playing, tacet is the intentional choice to do nothing at all. This term tells a vocalist or instrumentalist that their specific part has no role in the upcoming section. It is common in orchestral scores where some musicians might sit idle for minutes while others perform. Even in modern jazz, these silent gaps provide the necessary space for the overall composition to breathe.