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Music vocabulary · Rhythm, Meter and Tempo

Break

Meaning in music, with examples

nounCommon term

In music, break means: A short planned pause or drop in the arrangement that creates emphasis before a new line, beat, or section enters.

In Turkish: ara

How it is used

Common in band arrangements, rhythm sections, and popular music. A break may be full silence or a brief moment when only one part continues.

Example sentences

  1. The drummer counted the break carefully because the singer had to come back alone on the next downbeat after two silent beats.

    Here, break means a measured gap in the arrangement that must be counted exactly to prepare a precise re-entry.

  2. In the final chorus, the band added a one-bar break before the hook, which made the audience shout the first word together.

    In this sentence, break is an arrangement device used to build tension and make the following musical phrase hit harder.

Common collocations

  • one-bar break
  • drum break
  • play a break
  • break before the chorus
  • rhythmThe pattern of long and short sounds and silences in music, and how they are placed in time against the beat.
  • beatThe steady pulse that you tap your foot to in a piece of music. Beats are grouped into bars, and their speed is the tempo.

More terms: Rhythm, Meter and Tempo

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