A breakdown is a part of a song where the main melody pauses, and the band pretty much goes wild. In most genres, it’s also the part of the song where the audience feels most compelled to move to the music.
It can look super different depending on the genre. In jazz, it can have ecclectic drum beats, horns blaring out, and theory-be-damned piano runs. In metal, it’ll usually look like hard chugging on low strings to a different pattern than the rest of the song. In rap, it can look like the rapper yelling random phrases to a new/remixed beat. There are a lot of similarities between all of these, and artists will borrow breakdown elements between genres (such as in Kendrick Lamar’s “i”), but these are the main cues that you’re listening to a breakdown.
You mean like as in song structure? A breakdown is usually a slower or quieter part after the second chorus that adds some variety to the song, before building back up to the final choruses. Depending on the genre, it could remove some instruments, it could cut the tempo in half, it could cut to just drums and vocals.
Song structure typically looks like this:
intro
verse 1
chorus
verse 2
chorus
something different (breakdown would go here)
chorus (often doubled)
outro
THis is a very broad generalization, but 90% of pop/rock/etc songs since the 50s have followed this format, or very close to it. In the 50s and 60s the “something different’ would be a bridge – a different section that provided variety, but usually the same tempo and instrumentation. Might change key. In the 70s and 80s this was usually a guitar solo. In the 90s it might be a solo, or even a rap bridge (in a non-hiphop genre). In metal it will often be a half-tempo heavier section.
A breakdown usually describes part of a song where everything drops out except the bass and drums (or whatever is the rhythm section), and the other parts of the song are gradually added back until all parts return, and the song goes to it’s conclusion. You break the song down into its parts, and put it back together!
A good example of a breakdown is in “My Love (You’re Never Gonna Get It)” by En Vogue. Three quarters of the way through, the music pauses, even calls out “now it’s time for a breakdown!” and the women snap into a capella singing (no instrumentals, just voices). This is totally different from the rest of the song, both in rhythm and melody, even style. The breakdown repeats with the percussion added back in, and this eases the transition back into the normal song.
Comments
A breakdown is a part of a song where the main melody pauses, and the band pretty much goes wild. In most genres, it’s also the part of the song where the audience feels most compelled to move to the music.
It can look super different depending on the genre. In jazz, it can have ecclectic drum beats, horns blaring out, and theory-be-damned piano runs. In metal, it’ll usually look like hard chugging on low strings to a different pattern than the rest of the song. In rap, it can look like the rapper yelling random phrases to a new/remixed beat. There are a lot of similarities between all of these, and artists will borrow breakdown elements between genres (such as in Kendrick Lamar’s “i”), but these are the main cues that you’re listening to a breakdown.
You mean like as in song structure? A breakdown is usually a slower or quieter part after the second chorus that adds some variety to the song, before building back up to the final choruses. Depending on the genre, it could remove some instruments, it could cut the tempo in half, it could cut to just drums and vocals.
Song structure typically looks like this:
intro
verse 1
chorus
verse 2
chorus
something different (breakdown would go here)
chorus (often doubled)
outro
THis is a very broad generalization, but 90% of pop/rock/etc songs since the 50s have followed this format, or very close to it. In the 50s and 60s the “something different’ would be a bridge – a different section that provided variety, but usually the same tempo and instrumentation. Might change key. In the 70s and 80s this was usually a guitar solo. In the 90s it might be a solo, or even a rap bridge (in a non-hiphop genre). In metal it will often be a half-tempo heavier section.
[removed]
A breakdown usually describes part of a song where everything drops out except the bass and drums (or whatever is the rhythm section), and the other parts of the song are gradually added back until all parts return, and the song goes to it’s conclusion. You break the song down into its parts, and put it back together!
A good example of a breakdown is in “My Love (You’re Never Gonna Get It)” by En Vogue. Three quarters of the way through, the music pauses, even calls out “now it’s time for a breakdown!” and the women snap into a capella singing (no instrumentals, just voices). This is totally different from the rest of the song, both in rhythm and melody, even style. The breakdown repeats with the percussion added back in, and this eases the transition back into the normal song.