Last Updated on 2024-07-25
When people talk about music, they habitually use “rhythm and melody” to describe it, and they often use the two words interchangeably as words with the same meaning.
But did you know that “rhythm, melody” actually has a completely different meaning in the definition of music?
Therefore, this article will take you to understand how “music theory” clearly defines “Rhythm, Melody, and Harmony”.
1. what is Music Theory
Music Theory, which is a subject used to study “how to create music”.
In terms of use, music theory can be mainly divided into 3 purposes:
✅ Recognize musical notation.
✅ Record scholars’ research on music.
✅ Defining the procedures and norms of music.
From these three uses, it can be seen that music theory will be able to effectively summarize the varied music and provide people with a system that is easy to understand.
Also because music theory has consistent symbols and noun definitions, this will allow musicians to use music theory as a common language and conduct music exchanges without borders.
Among them, the third point of these uses of music theory – “defining the procedures and norms of music”, will be able to answer the definition of “rhythm, melody, harmony” for everyone.
2. what is Music
#2.1. Natural Music, Art Music
What is music? The so-called music can be divided into two types:
✅ “Natural Music” in a broad definition
✅ “Art Music” in a narrow definition
“Natural music” refers to the beautiful sounds that naturally exist in the environment, such as the sound of the sea, the sound of insects, and the sound of the breeze.
“Art music” is music created by people based on their aesthetic perception of sound, such as humming, arranging, and creating songs.
#2.2. the 3 Elements that Make Up Music
When people want to create “art music”, they need to skillfully combine the three elements that make up music: “rhythm, melody, and harmony”. Usually, for a complete piece of music, these three elements are indispensable.
3. RHYTHM
" When the sound repeats in a specific pattern, it will create a sense of musical rhythm "
#3.1. Regularity
When we want to learn “rhythm”, the easiest way to understand this regular sound is to imagine that you are beating a drum now. Here I will use a few steps to achieve a short and simple rhythm.
#3.2. Rhythm Example
【step 1】
” Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom “
At this time, it was still an unremarkable sound.
【Step 2】
” Boom-Bah, Boom-Bah, Boom-Bah, Boom-Bah “
At this time, the change of strength is added (imagine: Boom is a hard beat, and Bah is a light beat), and you can immediately feel the rhythm of the sound just like this.
【Step 3】
” Boom——Bah-Bah, Boom——Bah-Bah, Boom——Bah-Bah, Boom——Bah-Bah “
At this time, an additional change in speed was added, and we began to feel the rhythm of these sounds to produce a sense of power.
Through the above steps, a simple “rhythm” sound can be created, but the sound at this time is still the same pitch, only the strength and speed are presented…
It seems that there are still some things that are not enough.
So next we will use the element of “melody” to realize the change of pitch.
4. MELODY
"When the music progresses with time, at different time points, each sound is presented with more than two pitches (horizontal)"
#4.1. what is Pitch
The well-known Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti, and Do are one of the presentation methods of pitch. When you sing it, you can immediately know that they are the notes of different pitches.
In terms of physical characteristics, frequency (unit: Hz) can be used to express the pitch of these sounds.
#4.2. Melody with Pitch Changes
When we have established a “rhythm” sound with “strength and speed”, the “rhythm” at this time will be like the architecture of the song.
At this time, we added additional “melody elements of pitch fluctuations” to these “rhythm” sounds that were originally of the same pitch, so a basic song with “strength, speed, and pitch fluctuations” state appeared.
Let us continue the “Rhythm example【Step 3】” in the previous section to see what kind of change will be produced by “rhythm” and “melody”.
#4.3. Melody Example
【Step 3】
” Boom——Bah-Bah, Boom——Bah-Bah, Boom——Bah-Bah, Boom——Bah-Bah “
At this time, it is a rhythm without pitch change, Boom is a heavy beat, and Bah is a light beat.
【Step 4】
” Do——Re-Mi, Do——Re-Mi, Do——Re-Mi, Do——Re-Mi “
At this time, the rhythm example of【Step 3】is used as the architecture, and then the melodic element of pitch change is added. “Do” is a heavy beat, and “Re & Mi” is a light beat.
When we use “rhythm” and “melody”, although it has been able to form the most basic form of the song.
But if the element of “harmony” can be added, the song will be further expressive.
5. HARMONY
"Let the sound in the music be presented in two or more pitches at the same time point (vertical)"
#5.1. familiar also unfamiliar “Chords”
“Harmony” can also be called “chord”. Everyone is familiar with the word “chord”. It is often heard whether it is on guitar, piano or other musical instruments.
Although you can often hear “chords” around you, most people may not know what the actual function of “chords” is, so I will give some brief introductions here.
#5.2. Harmony (Chords)
Although “harmony” and “melody” are both described in this way: “presented in more than two pitches”, you must have noticed the brackets behind the definition descriptions of the two: Horizontal & Vertical .
This will represent how we distribute more than two pitches at a time point, which is the difference between “melody” and “harmony”.
✅ “Melody” is the horizontal distribution of pitches in time, that is, “different time points” have different pitches.
✅ “Harmony” is the vertical distribution of pitches in time, that is, “the same time point” has different pitches.
#5.3. Theory of Harmony
When we make two or more pitches at the same time — that’s “harmony”.
When we listen to the combined sounds of these different pitches, in terms of auditory experience, it can be divided into “consonant” and “dissonant”. This part involves “theory of harmony”.
When we discuss “theory of harmony”, it’s a more complicated field than the literal explanation. Therefore, this article will briefly talk about it here, and I will introduce it further in the future.
6. Deep Thinking
#6.1. do I need to use Music Theory to understand music?
It’s not mandatory!
If you want to use music to relax your mind when you are resting, or use music to keep yourself from being distracted when you are concentrating, these situations do not need to use music theory at all.
The original intention of music is to let people Come enjoy and immerse yourself!
#6.2. Music Appreciation
That being the case, what is the benefit of knowing music theory?
For a creator of performing arts, if he can better understand the conceptual roots of his creations, these understandings will naturally be reflected in the very subtle emotional presentation of the artworks.
For artists, it is these subtle and delicate presentations that can create artworks with soul ─ artworks that can deeply move people’s hearts.
For everyone, you can use some basic music theory concepts to appreciate music. When you appreciate music in a more profound way, you will be able to discover a different music world. The profundity of art music is absolutely beyond everyone imagined!
7. Conclusion
This article introduces the three major elements that make up music: “Rhythm, Melody, Harmony”.
When we carefully combine these elements with each other, we can create one after another beautiful art music.
Before the end of the article, let’s use the table to review the key points of “Rhythm, Melody, Harmony” !
| Rhythm | When the sound repeats in a specific pattern, it will create the rhythm of the music |
| Melody | As the music progresses over time, at different points in time, each sound is presented in more than two pitches （horizontal） |
| Harmony | Let the sound in the music be presented in two or more pitches at the same time at the same time（vertical） |
