Rhythm vs Melody

[Natasha Tori Maru]

What makes the first impression on you when listening to a tune, rhythm or melody? 

Do you play music, or dance? 

Many dancers and drummers I know tend toward noticing rhythm first, movement & beat. Other musicians hear the emotional crescendos of the melody & sequential pitches. I do not know if there is any pattern to be found here.

I am a dancer and only ever learned some drums and a touch of bass guitar (rhythm). I have always heard the beat and rhythm first. It catches me before the melody. 

I feel the beat in my body as movement, I feel the melody as an emotional weight in my chest and heart 😃

[Joseph Maynor]

For me rhythm definitely is the foundation or driving swing of music.  This is one reason I'm not a huge fan of classical music, although some classical music has rhythm like Bach.  Rhythm, form, time.  Then melody lays on top of the rhythm as the voice.  Rhythm without melody doesn't seem to go anywhere.  Melody without rhythm is boring.

Edited 3 hours ago by Joseph Maynor

[Natasha Tori Maru]

29 minutes ago, Joseph Maynor said:

Rhythm without melody doesn't seem to go anywhere.  Melody without rhythm is boring.

I feel this symbiosis in the way you describe. 

I think I like jazz for this reason, I feel more rhythm in it (although, this could be more perception). The swing-feel, unique articulation and syncopation really capture me. While I enjoy the melodic improvisation essential to the genre, I really feel it is the rhythmic approach that dictates how that melody is interpreted and phrased 😃

I love music!

[Joseph Maynor]

1 hour ago, Natasha Tori Maru said:

I feel this symbiosis in the way you describe. 

I think I like jazz for this reason, I feel more rhythm in it (although, this could be more perception). The swing-feel, unique articulation and syncopation really capture me. While I enjoy the melodic improvisation essential to the genre, I really feel it is the rhythmic approach that dictates how that melody is interpreted and phrased 😃

I love music!