Album: Discoveries (2011)
Track: I Shook Hands With Death (4:56)
A note to begin with:
In the last entry of this diary I said I would find an example of breakdown. Skip to 3:49 of this song if you want to get right to it. There are lot of songs out there that sound like they've just been built around the breakdown. I wanted to show you this one because it's arranged better than that I think.
Breakdown theory:
So what is a breakdown? It's really just a rhythmically centred section of a song hammered out with brutality. It is nearly always a different guiding rhythm to the rest of the song. The two most common systems for breakdowns is, slow and simple or fast and hugely subdivided. The thing that they all have in common is guitar tunings and played notes right down low (in the basement of guitar tunings). Another characteristic is the absence of all melodic elements, vocals may be included (growls aren't melodic).
Breakdown format:
I've chosen this song also because I dislike drawn out breakdowns. A breakdown after all is shift into a different musical direction for the song. It's like a witty statement when used in this shorter format, it adds a pleasant surprise to the song.
The build before the break:
Notice the build up for this breakdown is intense with that washy high register guitar. This is just one of the elements that makes the breakdown drop as hard as it does. The drumming pattern breaks into nothing but hi hats accenting with the kick on a syncopated line. The rhythm of the breakdown is quite a 'straight' rhythm in comparison to the grooves before it. Focus on the dramatic difference between it and the sounds that lead to it. Also notice the huge sub-hit or 'bass drop' that slams home on beat one of the breakdown. These are extremely common in this context.
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