Victor Wooten talks about ‘elements’ of music – separate parts that are equally important (or not).

They are:

Feel/Emotion

Dynamics

Rhythm

Tempo

Tone

Phrasing

Space/Rest

Notes

Articulation/Duration

Technique

Listening

He actually combines rhythm and tempo into one ‘element’ for his discussion in the book and states that all the elements except notes make up ‘groove’.

Some players really are masters of certain elements and do not emphasize others.  A Brazillian band might lay down a solid groove without using notes.  Or a guitar soloist might show a lot of emotion with great technique.  The use of dynamics to lower the backgrounds against a piano solo will make it stand out and make the group sound like they know what they’re doing.

A master musician will understand and use all the elements at various times.

Listening! The most important musical element + listening with your whole body video