View source for Break (music)

{{Short description|Instrumental or percussion section in a song}}
{{Redirect|Drum break|the vehicle brake|drum brake|other uses|Break (disambiguation)}}
{{distinguish|Breakdown (music)}}

In [[popular music]], a '''break''' is an [[instrumental]] or [[percussion instrument|percussion]] section during a song derived from or related to [[stop-time]] – being a "break" from the main [[section (music)|parts]] 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]] 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]]'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 music|hip hop]] and [[electronic dance music]], a break is where all the elements of a song (e.g., [[Pad (music)#Synth pad|synth pads]], [[bassline]]s, vocals), except for percussion, disappear; as such, the break is also called a "percussion break".

This is distinguished from a '''breakdown''', a [[section (music)|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.<ref name="B&B">{{cite book |last1=Brewster |first1=Bill |last2=Broughton |first2=Frank |date=2003 |quote=it is a part when the music stops but then comes up again |title=How to DJ Right: The Art and Science of Playing Records |page=[https://archive.org/details/howtodjrightarts00brou/page/79 79] |location=New York |publisher=Grove Press |isbn=0-8021-3995-7 |url=https://archive.org/details/howtodjrightarts00brou/page/79 }}</ref> The distinction between breaks and breakdowns may be described as, "Breaks are for the drummer; breakdowns are for electronic producers".<ref name="B&B" /> 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 (music)|drop]]", 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 music|hip-hop]] DJs have described the relationship between breaks, early hip-hop music, and [[disco]]. According to [[Afrika Bambaataa]]:<ref name="Toop 60">{{cite book |author-link=David Toop |first=David |last=Toop |date=1991 |title=Rap Attack 2: African Rap to Global Hip Hop |page=60 |location=New York |publisher=Serpent's Tail |isbn=1852422432}} Quoting [[Afrika Bambaataa]].</ref>
{{Blockquote|Now he took the music of like Mandrill, like "Fencewalk", certain disco records that had funky percussion breaks like the Incredible Bongo Band when they came out with "Apache" and he just kept that beat ''going''. It might be that certain part of the record that everybody waits for—they just let their inner self go and get wild. The next thing you know the singer comes back in and you'd be mad.}}

Musicologist [[David Toop]], based on interviews with [[DJ Grandmaster Flash]], [[Kool DJ Herc]], and others, has written:<ref name="Toop 62">Toop (1991), p.&nbsp;62. Quoting [[DJ Grandmaster Flash]] (1984, 1991).</ref>
{{Blockquote|Break-beat music and hip-hop culture were happening at the same time as the emergence of disco (in 1974 known as ''party music''). Disco was also created by DJs in its initial phase, though these tended to be club jocks rather than mobile party jocks – records by Barry White, Eddie Kendricks and others became dancefloor hits in New York clubs like Tamberlane and Sanctuary and were crossed over onto radio by Frankie Crocker at station WBLS. There were many parallels in the techniques used by Kool DJ Herc and a pioneering disco DJ like Francis Grasso, who worked at Sanctuary, as they used similar mixtures and superimpositions of drumbeats, rock music, funk and African records For less creative disco DJs, however, the ideal was to slip-cute smoothly from the end of one record into the beginning of the next. They also created a context for breaks rather than foregrounding them, and the disco records which emerged out of the influence of this type of mixing tended to feature long introductions, anthemic choruses and extended vamp sections, all creating a tension which was released by the break. Break-beat music simply ate the cherry off the top of the cake and threw the rest away. In the words of DJ Grandmaster Flash, "Disco was brand new then and there were a few jocks that had monstrous sound systems but they wouldn't dare play this kind of music. They would never play a record where only two minutes of the song was all it was worth. They wouldn't buy those types of records. The type of mixing that was out then was blending from one record to the next or waiting for the record to go off and wait for the jock to put the needle back on."}}

[[DJ Kool Herc|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).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Brewster |first1=Bill |last2=Broughton |first2=Frank |title=Brewster, Bill, and Frank Broughton. Last night a DJ saved my life: The history of the disc jockey |date=2014 |publisher=Open Road+ Grove/Atlantic}}</ref>

==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"<ref name="B&B" /> and compared to a [[false ending]]. Breaks usually occur two-thirds to three-quarters of the way through a song.<ref name="B&B" /> According to [[Peter van der Merwe (musicologist)|Peter van der Merwe]]<ref>{{cite book |last=van der Merwe |first=Peter |author-link=Peter van der Merwe (musicologist) |date=1989 |title=Origins of the Popular Style: The Antecedents of Twentieth-century Popular Music |page=[https://archive.org/details/originsofpopular0000vand/page/283 283] |location=Oxford |publisher=[[Clarendon Press]] |isbn=0-19-316121-4 |url=https://archive.org/details/originsofpopular0000vand/page/283 }}</ref> 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 [[Bassline#Bass run|bass runs]] of marches of the "[[John Philip Sousa|Sousa school]]". In this case it would be a "break" from the vocal part. In [[Bluegrass music|bluegrass]] and other [[old-time music]], a break is "when an instrument plays the [[melody]] to a song [[Instrumental idiom|idiomatically]], i.e. the [[Backup band|back-up]] played on the [[banjo]] for a [[mandolin]] 'break' may differ from that played for a [[dobro]] 'break' in the same song".<ref>{{cite book |last=Davis |first=Janet |date=2002 |publisher=Mel Bay Publications |title=Back-Up Banjo |page=6 |isbn=0-7866-6525-4}}</ref>

According to [[David Toop]],<ref name="Toop 113–115">Toop (1991), pp.&nbsp;113–115.</ref> "the word ''break'' or ''breaking'' is a music and [[Dance music|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 [[Charlie Parker]] in [[Dizzy Gillespie]]'s tune '[[Night in Tunisia]]'."

However, in hip hop today, the term ''break'' refers to {{em|any}} [[#Break beat|segment of music]] (usually four measures or less) that could be [[Sampling (music)|sampled]] and repeated. A break is any expanse of music that is {{em|thought of as a break}} by a producer. In the words of [[DJ Jazzy Jay]]: "Maybe those records [whose breaks are sampled] were 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{{'"}}.<ref>{{cite book |last=Schloss |first=Joseph G. |date=2004 |title=Making Beats: The Art of Sample-based Hip Hop |pages=36–37 |location=Middletown, Connecticut |publisher=[[Wesleyan University]] Press |isbn=0-8195-6696-9}} Citing Leland and Stein (1987), p.&nbsp;26.</ref> 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)==<!-- This section is linked from [[James Brown]] -->
{{Main|Breakbeat}}
A '''break beat''' is the [[sampling (music)|sampling]] of breaks as ([[Music loop|drum loop]]) beats, (originally found in [[Soul music|soul]] or [[funk]] tracks) and their subsequent use as the [[rhythm]]ic basis for [[Hip hop music|hip hop]] and [[Rapping|rap]]. It was invented by [[DJ Kool Herc]], a [[Jamaicans|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,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://archive.massappeal.com/kool-herc-oral-history-party-over-here-birth-of-hip-hop/|title=Party Over Here: An Oral History of Kool Herc's Historic Back-to-School Jam|date=2017-08-11|website=Mass Appeal|language=en-US|access-date=2019-04-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190402021917/http://archive.massappeal.com/kool-herc-oral-history-party-over-here-birth-of-hip-hop/|archive-date=April 2, 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Toop 113–115" /> 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.{{Citation needed|date=February 2007}}

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 (dancing)|breaking]]. In the 1980s, charismatic dancers like [[Crazy Legs (dancer)|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]]. Hip-hop break beat compilations include ''Hardcore Break Beats'' and ''Break Beats'', and ''Drum Drops''.<ref name="Toop 113–115" /> 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.<ref>{{Cite book|author=Brewster, Bill|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/893792069|title=Last night a DJ saved my life the history of the disc jockey|date=2014|publisher=Grove Press|isbn=978-0-8021-4610-6|oclc=893792069}}</ref>

==Notable examples==
Musical ensembles which are notable for their use of breaks include [[the Meters]], [[Creative Source]], [[the J.B.'s]], [[the Blackbyrds]], and [[the Last Poets]].<ref name="Toop 113–115" />

Notable breaks include:
* The [[Amen break]] from "Amen, Brother" (1969) by [[the Winstons]]<ref name="butler">{{Cite book |last=Butler |first=Mark J. |title=Unlocking the Groove: Rhythm, Meter, and Musical Design in Electronic Dance Music |date=2006 |publisher=[[Indiana University]] Press |isbn=978-0-253-34662-9 |page=[https://archive.org/details/unlockinggroover00butl/page/78 78] |quote=Even more common, especially in jungle/drum 'n' bass, is a break&nbsp;... which fans and musicians commonly refer to as the 'Amen' break. |url=https://archive.org/details/unlockinggroover00butl/page/78 }}</ref> The Amen break is quite often used as a second-hand sample from "[[Straight Outta Compton (song)|Straight Outta Compton]]" by [[N.W.A]], which sampled the original.
* "[[Apache (instrumental)#Incredible Bongo Band version|Apache]]" by the [[Incredible Bongo Band]], sampled from the intro. Used by [[DJ Kool Herc]], [[the Sugarhill Gang]] in "Apache", [[West Street Mob]] in "Break Dancin' – Electric Boogie".<ref name="Toop 113–115" />
* "[[Ashley's Roachclip]]" by [[Chuck Brown|Chuck Brown and the Soul Searchers]]. Used by [[Eric B. & Rakim|Eric B & Rakim]], [[P.M. Dawn|PM Dawn]], [[Milli Vanilli]], [[LL Cool J]] and many others.
* "[[Funky Drummer]]" by James Brown, sampled roughly at 5:34.<ref name="Toop 113–115" /> Used by [[Public Enemy (group)|Public Enemy]], [[Run-D.M.C.]], [[LL Cool J]], [[Ice Cube]], etc.
* "Fencewalk" by [[Mandrill (band)|Mandrill]], used by [[DJ Kool Herc]]<ref name="Toop 113–115" />
* "[[Think (About It)]]" by [[Lyn Collins]]<ref name="Toop 113–115" />
* "The Bottle" by [[Gil Scott-Heron]]<ref name="Toop 113–115" />
* "Take Me to the Mardi Gras" by [[Bob James (musician)|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".<ref name="Toop 113–115" />
* "Sesame Street" by [[Blowfly (musician)|Blowfly]], unique testimony of [[Oldschool jungle#Breakbeat science|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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Deep Blue's 'The Helicopter Tune' – Discover the Sample Source |url= http://www.whosampled.com/sample/92440/Deep-Blue-The-Helicopter-Tune-Blowfly-Sesame-Street/ |work=WhoSampled.com |access-date=August 4, 2015}}</ref>
* "Scorpio" by [[Dennis Coffey]]<ref name="Toop 113–115" />
* "Scratchin{{'"}} by Magic Disco Machine<ref name="Toop 113–115" />
* "Super Sporm" by [[Captain Sky]]<ref name="Toop 113–115" />
* "[[Move On Up]]" by [[Curtis Mayfield]]
* "It's a New Day" by [[Skull Snaps]]
*"[[Synthetic Substitution]]" by [[Melvin Bliss]]<ref name="RAB">{{cite book |last=Bloom |first=Ryan Alexander |title=Live Drum & Bass |location=New York |publisher=Hudson Music |date=2018}}</ref>
*"[[Impeach the President]]" by [[The Honey Drippers (soul band)|the Honey Drippers]]<ref name="RAB" />
*"N.T." by [[Kool and the Gang]]<ref name="RAB" />
*"Tighten Up" by James Brown<ref name="RAB" />
*"[[Cold Sweat]]" by James Brown<ref name="RAB" />

== See also ==
* [[Breakbeat]] – music genre
* [[Breakdown (music)|Breakdown]]
* [[Drum beat]]
* [[Drum solo]]
* [[:Category:Sampled drum breaks|List of widely sampled drum breaks]]
* ''[[Ultimate Breaks and Beats]]''
* [[Breakdancing]]
* [[Bridge (music)]]
* [[Get down]]
* [[Riff]]
* [[Song structure]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Wikiquote}}

{{drum beats}}
{{Musical form}}
{{Parts of a Song}}

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[[Category:Breaks| ]]
[[Category:Musical techniques]]
[[Category:Jazz terminology]]
[[Category:Hip-hop production]]
[[Category:Disco]]
[[Category:Electronic dance music]]
[[Category:DJing]]
[[Category:Percussion performance techniques]]