Music can be so complex and multi-faceted that it is no wonder that the average person is lost when it comes to a basic understanding of what music is. After all, there are many different classes of classical music alone – from baroque to romantic, from Bach to Bernstein, and everything in between. Then in jazz there is ragtime, blues, bop, west coast, Kansas City, dixieland – so many different styles all under the broad heading of jazz. And who can count the different styles in the world of popular music – from rock to country to folk to new age to….on and on.
But no matter what style or genre, all of music can be boiled down to just 3 basic elements melody (the tune), rhythm, and harmony. If I play melody alone without any rhythm, you probably would not recognize it as a tune – you would think of it as just a meaningless succession of notes. But when I marry it to rhythm, then it becomes recognizable. And when I add the third element of harmony, then we have music as we know and love it.
To learn music step by step, a student needs to learn to read the melody of a piece of music, almost always in the treble clef. This involves learning key signatures and accidentals as well. Then add to that rhythm, which involves learning time signatures, note values, and rest values. The final component is harmony, which of course usually takes the form of chords under the melody — often in the bass clef, but sometimes in the treble clef as well beneath the melody.
This process of learning music can be as simple as learning to read a lead sheet, or as complex as mastering a Beethoven symphony. Most of us fall somewhere in the middle. But no matter the level, it all comes down to learning the 3 elements of music melody, rhythm, and harmony.
Duane Shinn is the author of over 500 music books and music educational materials such as DVD’s, CD’s, musical games for kids, chord charts, musical software, and piano lesson instructional courses for adults. His book-CD-DVD courses on Learning Music have sold over 100,000 copies around the world. He holds advanced degrees from Southern Oregon University in Ashland, Oregon. He is the author of the popular free 101-week online e-mail newsletter titled Learn music fast with over 39,000 current subscribers.
Tags: beethoven symphony, duane shinn, elements of music, elements of music melody, key signatures, multi faceted, ragtime blues, succession of notes, time signatures, treble clef