Interlude

间奏 (Interlude) is a short musical or audio segment placed between sections of a larger work or program, used for transition, contrast, narrative connection, or to alter the overall rhythm. It can consist of instrumental music, vocals, ambient sounds, dialogue, or electronic soundscapes, and is not defined by the presence or absence of lyrics.

Within a song, an interlude is often placed between the verse and chorus or during an instrumental section; on an album, it can also serve as a standalone short track to bridge preceding and following songs or establish a conceptual context. Musicals and live performances also use 间奏 to provide space for scene changes, costume changes, and the passage of time within the plot. An interlude differs in function and placement from an intro, outro, and break. An intro introduces a piece, an outro concludes it, and a break often emphasizes rhythm or a brief pause; an interlude is situated in the middle of a larger structure. An intermission, on the other hand, typically refers to a formal mid-performance break and is not necessarily a segment containing musical content.

Tracks titled “Interlude” are not necessarily short, nor do they necessarily serve only a transitional purpose; this is the formal name given by the composer and should be distinguished from analytical structural terminology. Conversely, a musical segment that actually fulfills the function of 间奏 may not be named separately in the track list.

If 间奏 is played continuously with the preceding and following tracks, the disc may still have separate track boundaries, or a segment may be defined within a single track. Whether ripping results in a separate file depends on the mastering index, not on the musical function itself.