Breakdown?

[DDTonFire]

In a song, what section would be considered a "Breakdown?"
What is a "breakdown?"

[oRg]

hmm...I think what your talking about is like an interlude or rhythm change. From what I've heard I've never really been explained the textbook definition (if there is one) of it but I can try and elaborate on it for you. It's pretty much where the entire feel of the song is changed, tempo is doubled, or a new "main" timing is put into effect. It kinda adds a little change to a song so it doesn't sound monotonous and repetative.

[DanF]

Well my honkey friend. When you "break it down" that's like a dance thang, or it's to render something more easily understandable.

erm...
"The part in a piece of music, typically a dance track or pop song, where the texture is decreased, to give a softer, more low-key mood, usually before the texture of the music is brought up again to raise the emaotional level."

That's from UrbanDictionary.com :P In all seriousness "Breakdown" isn't a term I've ever heard used for music.

-Dan

[osiris]

as long as i was a DJ, "breakdown" mean change of tempo, as people said

let me give an example:
hard dance track in the air, boom-boom-boom-boom
it reaches the peak of sound, the highest level - and then beat changes to some melody line without beat (and even bassline in most cases)

so this is breakdown, man

read more here: http://music.hyperreal.org/dj/AVH/Basics.html#structure

......
This is in contrast to the breaks(downs) which build up to the climax.

In general terms: a break is that part of the track where MOST of the music stops, as the proverbial "silence before the storm", in order to build up the tension. The climax, of course, is the moment where this build up tension is released by bringing back the bass and main theme of the track

.....


btw - all of this is applying to rock music, for example - cause it's hard to all - musicians and people to play 200bpm rock for 3 hours long... everybody needs a ballad...... and noooooothing else matteeeeeeeeeers :-)))

[Metalliska]

I always thought of a breakdownm as sort of a middle bit in song, where the song slows down in pace to give way to a solo or a altered verse, normally it is slower, a half time feel, as the name suggests, it's a technique used in a lot of pop and rock stuff cause it normally occurs just before the last chorus, the breakdown is sort of like the calm before the storm and always makes the final chorus appear that bit more punchy and powerful, mostly a commercial technique these days, it crops up in all kind of pop and rock songs

[Metalliska]

Originally Posted by osiris

btw - all of this is applying to rock music, for example - cause it's hard to all - musicians and people to play 200bpm rock for 3 hours long... everybody needs a ballad...... and noooooothing else matteeeeeeeeeers :-)))

Nice

[Zatz]

Remember MC Hammer's "Can't Touch This"? I think it was that song where he raps "break it down" amid the song and there goes the breakdown

[Metalliska]

Originally Posted by Zatz

Remember MC Hammer's "Can't Touch This"? I think it was that song where he raps "break it down" amid the song and there goes the breakdown

It's Hammer Time Bo' selecta

[Zatz]

Originally Posted by Metalliska

It's Hammer Time Bo' selecta

LOL Right

[Koala]

Outkast believes you shouldnt break it down unless everyone gets on their baddest behaviour and shakes it like a polaroid picture... hope metallica never breaks it down...the moshpit would be a scary place.

[metaljustice83]

NOW THAT IS FUNNY KOALA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Koala just broke it down for us

[Stone]

BREAKDOWN means one more thing. This is when you are subdividing the beats of a bar.
For example, when you have the 2/4 time signature, as you know, it means that there are 2 beats per bar and the quarter note gets the beat. 2 can be divided by 2, so you can breakdown the beats and represent each quarter note as two eight notes. The things are the same when we have some compound time signature (for example, 6/8). In this case, we have six eight notes per bar (this is the total number of subdivisions or breakdowns). If the first number (6) can be divided by 3, this means that three eight notes gets the beat and we have two beats per bar. In fact, this three notes are one broken down dotted quarter note (a quarter note + an eight note).

[GuitarLausing]

Try MEtallica's Hit the Lights.. Major breakdown before solo.

Actually a lot of metallica's earlier song have breakdowns..

(metallica freak. yeah. i know it.)