When you listen to a song on the radio, or a piece at a concert, are you sometimes overcome with the complexity of it all? I know I am. When I am at a symphony concert and the orchestra is playing Mozart or Shostakovich or Bach, I try to follow the many individual parts going on and feel like I’m drowning in music. And while it’s a great feeling, sometimes I have to bring myself back to reality and remind myself that in the final analysis, there are only three basic elements in music: the melody (but there can be many melodies at once at times), harmony (the tonal environment in which the melody lives), and rhythm (the “pulse” or “beat” of the piece — and again, there can be several going on at the same time). Watch this very short video (3 minutes or so) and be reminded again of the simplicity of music within all the complexity:

“Understanding & Mastering Music Theory Inside Out!”