break
A brief passage where most instruments drop out, leaving one or two to play alone.
In Depth
A break is a moment of dramatic reduction — the full ensemble suddenly stops and one instrument (or a few) continues alone. Breaks create contrast, tension, and excitement. In jazz, a break often precedes a solo, giving the soloist a moment to establish their voice before the rhythm section re-enters.
In funk, hip-hop, and electronic music, the break (or breakdown) is the section where the music strips down to its rhythmic essence — often just drums and bass. The breakbeat, isolated from funk and soul records by early hip-hop DJs, became the foundation of entire genres including breakbeat, jungle, and drum and bass.
The Amen break — a four-bar drum solo from The Winstons' 1969 song — has been sampled thousands of times and is considered the most important six seconds of recorded music.