Some music fundamentals To be completely reductionist about it, music consists of tones arranged in time. Melodies are linear sequences of tones.
Harmonies are simultaneous groupings of tones.
Rhythm is the temporal pattern. In general, pitch corresponds to the frequency of sound waves, but the actual perception of pitch is a psychological phenomenon. The pitch in each case is the same, but the timbre is different. Differences in timbre are the result of variations in the strength and tuning of the various overtones. See the physics section for more details.