popular music Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Funk ...

, a break is an

instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to instr ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

section during a song derived from or related to stop-time – being a "break" from the main

parts Part, parts or PART may refer to: People *Armi Pärt (born 1991), Estonian handballer * Arvo Pärt (born 1935), Estonian classical composer *Brian Part (born 1962), American child actor *Dealtry Charles Part (1882–1961), sheriff (1926–1927) a ...

of the song or piece. A break is usually interpolated between sections of a song, to provide a sense of anticipation, signal the start of a new section, or create variety in the arrangement.

Jazz

A solo break in

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

occurs when the rhythm section (piano, bass, drums) stops playing behind a soloist for a brief period, usually two or four bars leading into the soloist's first improvised solo chorus (at which point the rhythm section resumes playing). A notable recorded example is sax player

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form ...

's solo break at the beginning of his solo on " A Night in Tunisia". While the solo break is a break for the rhythm section, for the soloist, it is a solo cadenza, where they are expected to improvise an interesting and engaging melodic line.

DJing and dance music

In DJ parlance, in disco, hip hop and electronic dance music, a break is where all the elements of a song (e.g., synth pads, basslines, vocals), except for percussion, disappear; as such, the break is also called a "percussion break". This is distinguished from a breakdown, a section where the composition is deliberately deconstructed to minimal elements (usually the percussion or rhythm section with the vocal re-introduced over the minimal backing), all other parts having been gradually or suddenly cut out. The distinction between breaks and breakdowns may be described as, "Breaks are for the drummer; breakdowns are for electronic producers". In hip hop music and electronica, a short break is also known as a "cut", and the reintroduction of the full bass line and drums is known as a "

drop Drop, DROP, drops or DROPS may refer to: * Drop (liquid) or droplet, a small volume of liquid ** Eye drops, saline (sometimes mydriatic) drops used as medication for the eyes * Drop (unit), a unit of measure of volume * Falling (physics), allowi ...

", which is sometimes accented by cutting off everything, even the percussion right before the full music is dropped back in.

Hip hop

Old-school hip-hop DJs have described the relationship between breaks, early hip-hop music, and disco. According to Afrika Bambaataa: Quoting Afrika Bambaataa. Musicologist David Toop, based on interviews with DJ Grandmaster Flash, Kool DJ Herc, and others, has written:Toop (1991), p. 62. Quoting DJ Grandmaster Flash (1984, 1991).

Hip hop, disco, and eroticism

DJ Kool Herc's innovative use of the break-beat came about through his observations of dancers and desire to give them what they wanted. In this case the who was b-boys (otherwise known as break-boys or breakdancers) and what they wanted was an opportunity to move explosively, express themselves, and peacock to women (Brester and Broughton 167). This grounds the conception of the innovation both in the embodied movements of the dancers and in the eroticism and sexuality of the b-boys themselves. As hip-hop used a number of disco tracks, and a number of Afro-American and Latin American tracks popularized by disco record pools, the eroticism brought out by these tracks can be presumed to be replicated in these hip-hops mixes, albeit altered through the emphasis and repetition of the break-beat. This suggests strong ties between hip-hop and disco so far as their vibrations, in that both are dancer focused and as such the corporeal vibrations between the embodied sensual movements of the dancers and the sounding of the DJ are resonating off each other to create a space for expression and eroticism in the club.

Break

A break may be described as when the song takes a "breather, drops down to some exciting percussion, and then comes storming back again" and compared to a

false ending A false ending is a device in film and music that can be used to trick the audience into thinking that the work has ended, before it continues. The presence of a false ending can be anticipated through a number of ways. The medium itself might bet ...

. Breaks usually occur two-thirds to three-quarters of the way through a song. According to Peter van der Merwe a break "occurs when the voice stops at the end of a phrase and is answered by a snatch of accompaniment", and originated from the bass runs of marches of the " Sousa school". In this case it would be a "break" from the vocal part. In bluegrass and other

old-time music Old-time music is a genre of North American folk music. It developed along with various North American folk dances, such as square dancing, clogging, and buck dancing. It is played on acoustic instruments, generally centering on a combinati ...

, a break is "when an instrument plays the

melody A melody (from Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combina ...

to a song idiomatically, i.e. the back-up played on the

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

for a

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

'break' may differ from that played for a dobro 'break' in the same song". According to David Toop,Toop (1991), pp. 113–115. "the word ''break'' or ''breaking'' is a music and dance term, as well as a proverb, that goes back a long way. Some tunes, like 'Buck Dancer's Lament' from early in the nineteenth century, featured a two-bar silence in every eight bars for the break—a quick showcase of improvised dance steps. Others used the same device for a solo instrumental break; a well-known example being the four-bar break taken by

in Dizzy Gillespie's tune '

Night in Tunisia Night (also described as night time, unconventionally spelled as "nite") is the period of ambient darkness from sunset to sunrise during each 24-hour day, when the Sun is below the horizon. The exact time when night begins and ends depends on ...

'." However, in hip hop today, the term ''break'' refers to segment of music (usually four measures or less) that could be sampled and repeated. A break is any expanse of music that is by a producer. In the words of DJ Jazzy Jay: "Maybe those records hose breaks are sampledwere ahead of their time. Maybe they were made specifically for the rap era; these people didn't know what they were making at that time. They thought, 'Oh, we want to make a jazz record'". Like the song Stereo World By Feeder and Upon This Rock by Newsboys are example that have a break and use this technique.

Breakbeat (element of music)

A break beat is the sampling of breaks as ( drum loop) beats, (originally found in

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '':wikt:soul, soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The ea ...

or funk tracks) and their subsequent use as the

rhythm Rhythm (from Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed ...

ic basis for hip hop and rap. It was invented by DJ Kool Herc, a Jamaican who emigrated to New York. He is usually credited with being a pioneer of the technique of using two copies of one record so as to be able to mix between the same break, or, as Bronx DJ Afrika Bambaataa describes, "that certain part of the record that everybody waits for—they just let their inner self go and get wild", extending its length through repetition. However, it is likely that there were a number of like-minded DJs developing the technique at the same time; for example, Walter Gibbons was noted in first-hand accounts by his peers for cutting two copies of the same record in his discothèque gigs of the mid 1970s.A particularly innovative style of street dance was created to accompany break beat-based music, and was hence referred to as "The Break", or breaking. In the 1980s, charismatic dancers like Crazy Legs, Frosty Freeze, and the Rock Steady Crew revived the breaking movement. More recently, electronic artists have created "break beats" from other electronic music, resulting in a broad style classification itself called

breakbeat Breakbeat is a broad type of electronic music that tends to use drum breaks sampled from early recordings of funk, jazz, and R&B. Breakbeats have been used in styles such as hip hop, jungle, drum and bass, big beat, breakbeat hardcore, and ...

. Hip-hop break beat compilations include ''Hardcore Break Beats'' and ''Break Beats'', and ''Drum Drops''. It was during the break beats of the song that break dancers and b-boys and girls would become the focus of attention and demonstrate their personal flair. DJ Kool Herc inspired local dancers to dance on the break beats, creating new sounds by combining the breakbeats from various songs.

Notable examples

Musical ensembles which are notable for their use of breaks include the Meters, Creative Source,

the J.B.'s The J.B.'s (sometimes punctuated The JB's or The J.B.s) was the name of James Brown's band from 1970 through the early 1980s. On records the band was sometimes billed under alternate names such as Fred Wesley and the JBs, The James Brown Soul T ...

, the Blackbyrds, and the Last Poets. Notable breaks include: * The

Amen break The Amen break is a drum break that has been widely sampled in popular music. It comes from the 1969 track "Amen, Brother" by the soul group the Winstons, released as the B-side of the 1969 single " Color Him Father". The drum break lasts abou ...

from "Amen, Brother" (1969) by the Winstons The Amen break is quite often used as a second-hand sample from "Straight Outta Compton" by N.W.A, which sampled the original. * " Apache" by the Incredible Bongo Band, sampled from the intro. Used by DJ Kool Herc,

the Sugarhill Gang The Sugarhill Gang is an American hip hop trio. Their 1979 hit "Rapper's Delight" was the first rap single to become a top 40 hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100; reaching a peak position of number 36 on January 12, 1980. This was the trio's o ...

in "Apache", West Street Mob in "Break Dancin' – Electric Boogie". * " Ashley's Roachclip" by Chuck Brown and the Soul Searchers. Used by Eric B & Rakim, PM Dawn,

Milli Vanilli Milli Vanilli were a German-French R&B duo from Munich. The group was founded by Frank Farian in 1988 and consisted of Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus. Their debut album, ''All or Nothing'' in Europe, reconfigured as '' Girl You Know It's True'' ...

, LL Cool J and many others. * " Funky Drummer" by James Brown, sampled roughly @ 5:34. Used by

Public Enemy "Public enemy" is a term which was first widely used in the United States in the 1930s to describe individuals whose activities were seen as criminal and extremely damaging to society, though the phrase had been used for centuries to describe ...

, Run-D.M.C., LL Cool J, Ice Cube, etc. * "Fencewalk" by

Mandrill The mandrill (''Mandrillus sphinx'') is a large Old World monkey native to west central Africa. It is one of the most colorful mammals in the world, with red and blue skin on its face and posterior. The species is sexually dimorphic, as males ...

, used by DJ Kool Herc * " Think (About It)" by Lyn Collins * "The Bottle" by Gil Scott-Heron * "Mardi Gras" by Bob James, cover of Paul Simon's " Take Me to the Mardi Gras", sampled from the intro. Used by the Crash Crew on "Breaking Bells (Take Me to the Mardi Gras)" and by Run DMC on "Peter Piper". * "Sesame Street" by

Blowfly Blowfly or blow fly may refer to: * Calliphoridae, a family of flies * Blowfly (musician) Clarence Henry Reid (February 14, 1939 – January 17, 2016) was an American musician, songwriter and producer also known by the stage name and altern ...

, interesting testimony of breakbeat science as the breakbeat is reconstructed from various places with solo drums in the song. Also known as "Helicopter" break after "The Helicopter Tune" by Deep Blue, which is the common second-hand source of the reconstructed sample. * "Scorpio" by Dennis Coffey * "Scratchin'" by Magic Disco Machine * "Soul Makossa" by Manu Dibango * "Super Sporm" by Captain Sky * "Move On Up" by

Curtis Mayfield Curtis Lee Mayfield (June 3, 1942 – December 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer, and one of the most influential musicians behind soul and politically conscious African-American music.

* "It's a New Day" by

Skull Snaps Skull Snaps was an enigmatic funk group active between 1963 and 1973. The group is known for their mysterious origins and the anonymity of their members, with the identities of their members being unknown for most of their career and long afterwa ...

*"Synthetic Substitution" by Melvin Bliss *" Impeach the President" by the Honey Drippers *"N.T." by Kool and the Gang *"Tighten Up" by James Brown *" Cold Sweat" by James Brown

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Break (Music) Musical techniques Jazz terminology Hip hop production Disco Electronic dance music DJing Percussion performance techniques