Breakbeat

Breakbeat as a term refers to one of two distinct things. Originally it would have referred only to "A breakbeat" (1), a section of a song in which, typically, all or at least most of the instruments stop for a period, usually around one bar, except from the drums, which would continue the melody even if altered. Since the rise of electronic music it can now also refer to the electronic music genre "Breakbeat" (2), characterized, simply put, as a genre of around 140bpm with a kick drum on 1st and 3rd beats, and a snare on the 2nd and 4th beats in a 4/4 beat pattern. This varies the music greatly from the steady beat used in house, techno and trance etc., which while often sharing a snare on the 2nd and 4th beats, are characterized by a kick drum on every beat.

Breakbeats, as in "A breakbeat" (1) have been known and used for around a hundred years, and are widely known for being sampled by many early producers of hip hop, where the "break" in a song, usually only a few seconds long, is looped to create basis for an entire new song. This sampling has continued up until today, and the original "breakbeats" from songs from the 1950s, 60s, 70s have been used in thousands of more recent songs since the rise of electonic music in the 1980s.