Music Question(s)

[Haruspex_Pariah]

I hope this is the correct thread: the subforum description does include music.

Does anyone know the name for that part in a song where there's no music?

What I mean is that the song plays normally with music and vocals, but then there's a part where the music is abruptly silenced (or greatly reduced) but the vocals continue as normal. I quite like the effect but somehow I can't recall any specific song where it's used :smalleek:

I would normally Google things like this, but I had absolutely no idea what to type in the search bar. I don't even know if there's an actual term for what I'm describing.

EDIT: The part with muted music is sometimes a repetition of an earlier part with full music, this emphasizes the words, at least that's how I hear it. Man, I hope people understand what I'm trying to say.

[Nameless]

There might be a more technical term, but the only term that come to my mind is the obvious, vocal solo.

But if it's still accompanied by some instruments or music, it's called an Aria, I think.

EDIT:
You might be thinking of a cantata, but Wikipedia says that there's usually instruments accompanying, so that doesn't really help either... so maybe a Madrigal.

[JoshL]

Some examples off the top of my head (I think we're on the same page here):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oDVK3q4-oA (at 3:30, the chorus instrumentals cut to a quieter/muted part)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fhIBTbKvNg (around 2:23, the instruments cut to highlight the voice on the end of the verse. When we play it live, we sometimes stretch that pause out longer, playing it real loose)

As for technical terms, the latter is close to a caesura (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cesura) in the instrumental line. If we kept the same tempo (which we don't always), it would be a good example of stop-time (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stop-time).

In the first example, I don't know if there is a technical term for that, but thinning out the texture/muting the instruments is pretty awesome for dramatic effect.

Oh, and Nameless, those are all names for styles of pieces, not for a section within a piece. So an aria could contain a section with that kind of solo break.

[Wavelab]

Well when singing without instrumentation it's called singing A Cappella (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_cappella).

This probably isn't what you're looking for, but I like giving my opinion :smallbiggrin: