Breakbeat Music Guide: 3 Characteristics of Breakbeat

Breakbeat is a type of electronic music known for its drum samples from hip-hop, funk, R&B, jazz, and various dance music genres. Beginning in the 1970s, hip-hop DJs sampled classic funk tunes like The Winstons' "Amen, Brother" and James Brown's "Funky Drummer," often toggling back and forth between two turntables playing the same song to repeat drum patterns.

Since then, breakbeat music has woven its way into all sorts of electronic music genres, including deep house, electro, big beat, drum and bass, breakbeat hardcore, UK garage, breakstep, dubstep, 2-step garage, 4-beat, jungle, trip hop, and electronic dance music (EDM).

Beginning in the 1970s, breakbeat evolved over time and continues to have a presence today.

• 1970s: New York City hip-hop DJs pioneered the breakbeat technique in the 1970s. Artists like DJ Kool Herc and Grandmaster Flash pioneered a technique of playing the same breakbeat samples on two different turntables, which allowed them to repeat drum patterns by back-spinning one record while the other one played.
• 1980s: In the late 1980s, non-hip-hop artists began applying breakbeats to other dance music styles. This led to new genres such as electro-funk, acid breaks, and Miami bass.
• 1990s: By the 1990s, Florida breaks, breakbeat hardcore, psychedelic breakbeat (psybreaks), progressive breaks (prog breaks), and nu skool breaks also emerged as subgenres. Perhaps the most commercially popular of breakbeat electronic music genres is big beat, which British electronic acts like the Chemical Brothers, The Prodigy, Fatboy Slim, Propellerheads, Death in Vegas, and Cut La Roc helped pioneer. Also known as "funky breaks," this style of dance music incorporates elements of house, trance, jungle, and hip-hop music.
• 2000s and beyond: The breakbeat technique endures in a wide array of electronic and rave genres. Most electronic music playlists feature breakbeats, from deep house to EDM to Florida breaks.

Breakbeat music is traditionally characterized by:

1. 1. Classic funk samples: While breakbeat can sample any kind of music, a few songs come up again and again. These include James Brown's "Funky Drummer," Lyn Collins's "Think (About It)," and The Shadows' "Apache." Perhaps the most sampled track in breakbeat is The Winstons' "Amen, Brother," which breakbeat DJs use so often they’ve coined the term "the Amen break."
2. 2. Danceable rhythms: The vast majority of breakbeat music is in 4/4 time with tempos ranging from 110 beats per minute (bpm) to 150 bpm. Some downtempo songs may clock closer to 100 bpm. In breakbeat, drum patterns and bass lines repeat, but sampled breaks interrupt them.
3. 3. Audio effects and filter sweeps: Breakbeat music tends to hover on single chords or loop very simple chord progressions. Still, breakbeat DJs create distinct sections in their music using audio effects. The most common among these is a filter sweep, where hi-pass filters squeeze out low frequencies until a new section begins. Other audio effects include reverb, delay, reverse playback, and time-stretching.

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