The OffBeat #11: Taking Five

Building in breathers

To “take five” is to grab a quick — five-minute — break. My high school band leader used to tell us to take five in between every hour or so of rehearsal. (College jazz band was a different story.)

Take Five is also an iconic jazz standard by The Dave Brubeck Quartet, the first jazz LP to sell a million copies. The title’s in reference to the quirky 5/4 time signature, but also the time-honored phrase regarding taking a breather. I once memorized and performed Joe Morello’s entire drum solo note by note, so it’s a song I know intimately.

In a work setting, taking five can show up in making 25-minute or 55-minute meetings the standard, to let folks recalibrate between Zooms by grabbing coffee or stretching. It can also show up in self-enforced breathers between high-cognitive-load activities: if you’re switching gears between working on a deck and having a team meeting, give yourself a few minutes to reset.

The five minutes part is nominal; taking five could also be more grandiose, like a day-long team offsite that includes time to connect on a personal level.

The idea is simply that your brain — and for musicians, their bodies — needs built-in time, even if brief, to recharge throughout long periods of concentrated activity. It can feel daunting to carve out that time, as any change to your regular rhythm requires resisting inertia. But if you think about it as five-minute breaks from studio time between intense periods of rehearsal, it might feel more doable.

Have a great week,

Allison