Elements of Music
There are four basic elements of music:
- Harmony;
- Melody;
- Rhythm;
- Timbre.
Except in exceptional cases (like John Cage’s 4’33”), all of these elements are present in all songs. In any given song each of these elements can either be simple (AKA structured) or complex (AKA free), or somewhere in between on a spectrum. And as a general principle, the more complex/free one element is the more simple/structured the others need to be. Music where all 4 of these elements are complex/free will sound chaotic and more like noise. Music where all these elements are simple/structured will sound a little bit boring. Music that has some complex/free and some simple/structured elements will sound interesting but grounded. So as a general rule:
The more structured one element, the more freedom you have with the others.
Structured vs Free
Now, you could debate as to the meaning of ‘structured’ and ‘free’ for each of these elements, but in my mind they are as follows:
| Element | Simple | Complex |
|---|---|---|
| Harmony | Triads Tertian (3rds) Functional (Tonic Chord) | Extended chords (13ths) Quartal (4ths) Non-functional / Atonal |
| Melody | Root Note Diatonic Repetition | No Repetition No Root Note Chromatic |
| Rhythm | Ostinato/Groove Fixed tempo Fixed meter | Varying rhythm (Comping) Rubato Ameter |
| Timbre | Same instrument Same tone Notes | Different instruments Different tone Noise |
So we need some elements to be simple and structured and some elements to be complex and free. And you can play around with which elements to make more complex and free. Playing a nice simple functional chord progression using triads allows you to be more adventurous with your melody and create a more chromatic improvisation. While playing a really dissonant and non-functional chord progression using quartal chords forces you to keep your melody a little bit sparser and simpler, maybe sticking to a diatonic scale or blues scale. If you have a complex harmony and a chromatic melody, it will sound really chaotic and unpleasant, like you’re making mistakes. So:
- Simple elements give music it’s form and its pattern and it’s structure but are inherently boring
- Complex elements add interest and excitement to your music but are quite chaotic and cause you to lose that structure.
Balance
So you need a combination of some free elements (to give excitement) and some structured elements (to give structure) to create interesting music. That is, the elements should be ‘balanced’. This concept of ‘balance’ is similar to that of ‘tension and resolution‘. But while tension and resolution is temporal in that it relates to building and reducing complexity of a single element over time, the idea of balance is spatial in that it relates to the relative complexity all the musical elements at a single point in time. This is, of course, to some extent subjective. What I may perceive as structure and repetition, someone else may perceive as chaos. But the general principle still stands.
You’ll find that many genres of music adhere to this concept of Balance.
| Genre | Simple Element | Complex Element |
|---|---|---|
| Modal Jazz | Simple diatonic melodies | Quartal harmony non-functional harmony |
| Bossa Nova | Simple melody | Complex syncopated rhythms |
| Afro-Cuban | Simple triadic harmony with V-I progressions | Complex syncopated rhythms |
| Fusion/Jazz-Rock | Repeated ostinato or pedal point basslines | Complex chromatic melody & harmony |
| Thrash Metal & EDM | Simple chords and repetitive harmony | Distorted, complex timbre |
