Regardless of whether you play a musical instrument, you probably know a little something about beat, melody, and harmony. But while many people are familiar with these terms, some still struggle to understand the difference between the most fundamental of musical elements—tempo and rhythm.
In simple terms, tempo is how fast or slow a piece of music is performed, while rhythm is the placement of sounds in time, in a regular and repeated pattern. Tempo generally is measured as the number of beats per minute, where the beat is the basic measure of time in music. Rhythm can be thought of as the pattern of music in time.
To illustrate the difference, consider the human heartbeat. The heartbeat is a division of time, and it can be fast or slow—its tempo. It also has a repeated pattern of sounds—”lub-dub, lub-dub”—its rhythm.
Rhythm is among the most important fundamental elements in music, with differences in rhythmic structure characterizing different styles of music. Rhythmic structure cannot be separated from time, or the basic beat, such as a quarter note or series of eighth notes. Those elements, in fact, are critical to determining the rhythm of music. Moreover, the same rhythm is produced regardless of the speed at which the music is played. Tempo, on the other hand, contributes to the overall feel of the music—whether it is exciting, attempts to convey sadness, or sets a relaxing mood.