Elements of music in 20 seconds

1. Harmony sets the mood with a chord of simultaneous notes, here the G Major triad G3, B3, D4.

2. Melody pitches a story in a sequence of notes, here the melodic line C4, E4, G4, F4, D4.

3. Rhythm drives its flow by varying the duration of notes, here for the same melodic line.

4. Timbre embeds texture with harmonic overtones, here enriching the same melody and rhythm.

Ludwig van Beethoven crafted all four elements into a 10-second musical composition. His Bagatelle Number 10, Op. 119 from CE 1822 is played here on an acoustic guitar by Ed Chang:

C.P. Doncaster, Timeline of the Human Condition, star index