# Fermata (Italian, "stop")

Source: https://arcosounds.com/glossary/fermata
Also known as: pause, bird's eye

**A fermata is a symbol, a dot under an arc, placed over a note or rest indicating it should be held longer than its written value, for a duration the performer or conductor chooses.**

There is no fixed length. Convention suggests roughly double the written value as a starting point, but the real determinant is context: a fermata over the last chord of a symphony and one over a mid-phrase rest are different gestures entirely. In an ensemble the conductor decides, and the players watch rather than count.

A fermata over a bar line or a rest indicates a general pause, a silence of indeterminate length before the music resumes. Where the music is meant to continue without a break afterwards, the score usually says attacca.

Canonical source: https://arcosounds.com/glossary/fermata