The Five Principal Musical Elements and Their Psychological Effects

The principal musical elements are: rhythm ­ tone ­ melody ­ harmony ­ timbre.

1. Rhythm

This is the primordial and fundamental element of music. The music of primitive peoples consists solely of rhythm. It is, indeed, what the poet D’Annunzio has called it, “the heart of music.” Rhythm is the element which has the most intense and immediate influence on man, and it affects directly both the body and the emotions.

Organic life is based on various rhythms: the rhythm of respiration; the rhythm of the heart­beat; the rhythm of the various muscular movements; the rhythm of activity and rest; the rhythms of the various bodily functions, not to speak of the more subtle vibratory rhythms of every cell, every molecule and every atom.It is therefore not surprising that the rhythms of music exercise a powerful influence on those organic rhythms, either stimulating or calming them, harmonizing or creating discord and disruption.