LilyPond: rests making an empty whole measure

Question

I am writing (in LilyPond) the beautiful lyrical waltz of Shostakovich, and I am getting a whole measure empty. What I want to achieve is the following:

But I am getting this:

I'd tried several combinations of rest but none are working, the best I can get is what I've show here.

My current code looks like this:
(I use Italian language, but certainly you will see the point)

\language "italiano"
upper = \relative do' {
\clef treble
\key fa \major
\time 3/4
    r1
    r1
    r1
    r8 do8 re mi fa sol
}

lower = \relative do {
\clef bass
\key fa \major
\time 3/4
    fa,4 <do' fa la>4 <do fa la>^.
    do, <do' fa la> <do fa la>^.
    fa, <do' fa la> <do fa la>^.
    do , <do' fa la> <do fa la>^.
}

\score {
\new PianoStaff <<
\new Staff = "upper" \upper
\new Staff = "lower" \lower
>>
\layout { }
\midi { }
}

Any ideas on how I can make this work properly?

Answer 1

As simple as:

R1 * 3/4

Read a whole-bar rest. Which is 4 quarter notes. 4 quarter notes divided by 4, times by 3 is a whole-bar rest in 3/4 time!

---

Edit TLTR

They are not whole-note rests, either in 3/4 or 4/4 time but whole-bar rests, to be clear. They have a default value of 4 quarters.

My way

Larger than 4 quarter-notes: 5/4 is R1 * 5/4
Equal to 4 quarter-notes: 4/4 is R1 * 1/1, simply R1
Smaller than 4 quarter-notes: 3/4 time is R1 * 3/4

The fraction mirrors the time signature.

I'm seeing it as a whole-bar is 100%, more than 4 quarters is more than 100%, less than 4 quarters is less than 100%.

While the documentation is of course correct and doesn't state the fraction way, apart from larger than 4 quarter-notes,(and @Aaron's answer should probably be the correct answer), I think there are valid reasons for using fractions:

• fraction mirrors the time signature
• introduces the fraction of a note concept early-on in learning lilypond, it's particularly used in:
  • tuplets e.g. \tuplet 3/2 { c8 c c} (but this is 3 in space of 2, not tech. a fraction)
  • placement of delayed ornaments e.g { c8 * 1/4 s\trill s\turn s\prall d8 }
  • other places like spacing
• confusion: if I see 2, I expect to see a half-note not a whole-note (half-notes have the additional pain of looking like whole-notes). With 1 I'm always seeing whole-note symbol.

Answer 2

Use a capital R2. (including the "dot" for dotted half-note) for your rests to indicate a full-bar rest. See here: http://lilypond.org/doc/v2.18/Documentation/notation/writing-rests#full-measure-rests

Based on the rest placement, Lilypond is interpreting your rests as lasting four beats, thus crossing the bar lines. That seems to be why the blank measure occurs: it's three of the four beats of the third rest.