Understanding music theory is the biggest favor you can do yourself in your growth as a musician. You will be able to interact constructively with other musicians easily, and your learning curve will also be faster if you understand basic musical concepts. Melody and rhythm are at the heart of classical music, which almost solely depends on musical notes played in a given order under a given time signature.
Playing notes randomly is like using letters randomly and hoping to come up with words that make sense. Chord progressions depend on a deeper understanding of musical composition and concept. Most people confuse melody and rhythm, and in this rhythm vs melody article, we will help you understand the difference between the two.
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Rhythm
Think of your heart. It beats in a given succession, and when you exercise or go to the hospital, the heart rate per minute is taken. Arrhythmia is a medical condition where the heart has an irregular beat. Did you notice the word "rhythm" in there somewhere? A rhythmic pattern is a beat that happens in succession to create a pattern.
You find yourself nodding your head or snapping your fingers in a given pattern when you listen to music. Or, if you have seen dancers, they move to the beat beautifully. That is all thanks to rhythm.
Therefore, we can define rhythm as a series of repeated notes and rests that form a rhythmic pattern on musical instruments.
Rhythm is much more than just the succession of notes played in a given period. There are rhythm elements that make it a unique approach to music and instrument use. Let us look at some of the elements you can find in rhythm.
Elements of Rhythm
a) Tempo
If you are familiar with music, you will have seen the use of the term "BPM" in some instances. This is because all songs have a "beat-per-minute," where the rhythmic pattern repeats a certain number of times in a given minute. Therefore, we can conclude that tempo is the speed at which a song or music is played on a given instrument.
Tempo is an important bit of musical composition. Tempo can turn a whole orchestra into a single entity because it creates a boundary where everyone needs to operate. For example, if you attend a concert, you will hear the drummer count with his sticks before starting a song. In other cases, you will hear someone saying "one...two...one, two, three, four", then the music starts.
Tempo can be communicated using different words like largo, andante, presto, and allegro, which are Italian words used to communicate tempo.
b) Time Signature
We will do a small exercise. I want you to count the following using the same speed; "1,2,3...1,2,3, 1,2,3". Now count "1,2,3,4...1,2,3,4..1,2,3,4". Notice the difference? Time signature can get as complicated as it gets, but it is the number of beats per measure (not per minute).
c) Accents
Whether you are listening to Australian aboriginal music that uses clap sticks as their lead instruments or brass ensembles, there are points in rhythm where a beat is emphasized more than other points. Likewise, we have all mouthed the drumbeat to our favorite rock songs. So how do you do it? Do you notice that you make a different sound for different parts, right?
Accents make different notes stand out more than others. Therefore, they could be played in different pitches from others, as long as there is an audible marker.
d) Strong and Weak Beats
If you listen to the drum beats of a particular song, you will notice that there is a heavier beat and lighter beats. The heavier beat is called a down-beat. The downbeat is played similarly to other beats, only heavier or more accentuated. Think of a simple drum beat. You can hear two different pitches in the beats played. Those are probably the beats you are going to be dancing to.
e) Syncopation
Okay, forget about the strict musical terms (trust me, they can be tough and fun to learn and master). Syncopated rhythms are notes played that do not align with the downbeat of given measures. These types of beats emphasize notes and beats that would normally be weak to make sounds that may be offbeat, but intentionally.
As noted, rhythm is mostly about time and different durations in a given song or instrument. Therefore, the time factor could be the main difference between melody and rhythm. Other elements in several instruments can signify a difference in melody and rhythm, but time is the main one.
Lets talk about melody.
Melody
A song can have the right rhythm, but you will find it rather annoying if it lacks melody. Melody, on the other hand, can be independent of rhythm. Rhythm creates rules to make the melody sound beautiful and organized. Now, what is melody?
Melody can be termed a group of tones that collectively create an entity that is music. Different instruments playing notes work in conjunction with one another to create melody. Every band member has a role in creating one collaborative piece that is beautiful to the ear.
Creating music using more than one instrument needs an understanding of melody. So the person at the piano, the guitarist, drummer, bassist and even the vocalist work together to create melody.
Melody has components that make it complete and is divided into two main divisions.
i) Pitch- Pitch is the variation of the instrument in a given variation. For example, an instrument can have a higher pitch than the other, even though they play the same note. A C-note played on a bass guitar will sound different from the one played on a violin. By combining notes using different pitches, a band can play melodies that create complete songs.
ii) Duration- Durations refers to the time that a note will take as it is played on a given pitch. Single tones can last as long as needed. Wind instruments may hold longer notes than the piano or the drum. Here is a small exercise. Say "La-la-la-la" and "laaaa...laaaa..laaaa". Notice the difference?
The Staff
When you start learning music theory, you will use the staff, a visual representation of musical notations that guide musicians on what to play and when to play them. For example, when two or more notes are played together, some rules may make the notes sound a certain way to bring out the required emotion. Likewise, a solo instrument is well known to guide the song towards a given emotion that the audience may relate to.
The staff brings melody and rhythm and rhythm together, and the instructions on the staff show where the constant periodic beat appears and where there is polyrhythm, triple meter and so on.
The staff is so useful that a singer would use the required notes to sing phrases in genres like opera music. You can use similar notes in a different way to produce the style of music that you want. Melody vs. rhythm exists in a perfect tug that keeps each in balance to create beautiful music.
Origin of Melody and Rhythm
When I was little, I would hit tree trunks so that an army of ants would come out. I also would tell me who the approaching footsteps belonged when I was back in the house with my family. My dad's steps were very distinct from my mom's, thanks to rhythm. Rhythm has been a part of our civilization because it is in everything that we do. Rhythm is imprinted in our brains, and we know what typing sounds like and rain.
One defense tactic used in the past was listening to the ground for footsteps from approaching horses. Rhythm can be inspiring and can evoke emotions. The reason soldiers would go to war with huge drums was to inspire fear within their enemies. Take some time to notice every instance of rhythm around you today.
On the other hand, Melody has to be invented and curated more carefully. A living organism produces some melody. Birds chirping in the morning or crickets at night all have specific sounds that are unique to them. We would take music tapes and remove the film to tie on trees on the farm. The vibration from these films would scare birds away.
Musically, the melody has developed over time, and the complexity has increased tremendously. Music can only get better, from pieces written on clay tablets to complex Beethoven numbers. Music is a great tool. The note used correctly can achieve incredible results, from the alarm tone you hate to the minor note that will make someone cry.
Final Take
Melody and rhythm may be different, but their difference makes them complementary and beautiful. Like brick and mortar, you will have the strongest results if you know how to layer each. Music theory is a vital and useful part of any musician's development. It is better to get things right from the onset of your musical journey.