What is a break?

Sorry for my total ignorance, but what does it mean when the song has a break in it?

 

i know what it is but its one of those things i cant translate from my mind to the keyboard!!

so, i googled, and found this:

1) The point of change in the quality of tenor, alto, and soprano voices (a genuine bass has no break). The lower range is called voce di petto or chest voice, the upper, voce di testa or head voice. In a properly trained voice, the break should be practically imperceptible.
2) In the clarinet, flute, recorder, or other wind instrument, the place between the lower register of the instrument and the higher. For example, the break on the clarinet is between B flat and B natural in the treble clef.
3) An imperfectly formed tone on the horn, trumpet, or clarinet.

i understand what its saying but there's no way i could put it into my own words... hope i helped

 

It's the part of the song where the performers go outside and have a cigarette.

 

That's what I was thinking at first...

...I'm asking in the context of a bluegrass song...So for a banjo I suppose maybe it means going to the extreme ends of it's tessitura?

 

A break can also be a term for a section of a song, as in "lead break" when the lead player takes a solo.

 

Samson is right.In the context of bluegrass,a "break" is a solo.Meaning one instrument is featured,with the others playing a back-up role.The arrangement on a bluegrass tune is often something like:

Verse (lead vocal)
Chorus (harmony vocals)
Fiddle Break
Verse
Chorus
Banjo Break
Verse
Chorus
Mandolin Break
Verse
Chorus

There aren't any hard and fast rules in pop music slang."Break" is used more often in bluegrass.In rock,it might more often be called a lead,a solo,or a ride.

 

it's more than just a solo. It's an improvised INTRO to a solo where everybody else in the band is tacet for a number of bars before the first chorus of the solo actually begins and the rhythm section come back in to mark the changes of the solo.

 

listen to whole lotta love by led zeppelin, you've got the guitars and bass that come in, and then gradually the drum bass comes when the drums start

 

I get it... Alright, so that a break doesn't apply to me while I'm just learning the songs by myself... Seeing as I've no one to play with...

 

I'd just like to cast my vote against listening to Whole Lotta Love.

 

Well you can still play a break on your own when you're practising. You can practise the tune and then you can practise going off into a break and then you can practise playing a solo on the chords of the head.

My favourite example of a break is Charlie Parker doing Night in Tunisia. he just goes off on one, as it were for a couple of bars, then the rhythm section comes in and he plays a solo, which I suppose you could call more settled, but by Parker's standards, settled doesn't mean a lot.

 

heathen