The Interactions of Musical Elements

Abstract

This study analyses the early intersections between melody, rhythm and harmony, up to the recent emergence of new musical styles. Psychological studies of rhythm have shown that it has played an important role in social and relational experience. At the same time, it creates a sense of bonding between people and can alter the moods of several people at once and lead them in a unified direction. Melody, rhythm and tempo tell the listener that they are in a safe and good place, expressing a psychological need for a sense of security, providing a sense of life’s pulse, similarly to the heartbeat. Unfortunately, modern human life lacks the life-like rhythm that God provided for us in creation. Ritual is our identity, our memory, a continuation of the old, an exit from the individual sphere and an entry into a communal one, into a new role, suggesting a transition, accompanied by sounds, rhythm, song, music and dance.