My Color Music

After recently watching that video by The Cars, I think we all might have noticed something interesting … that is, even good musicians can be total nerds. I mean, The Cars really know how to rock. But part of the reason that band is so cool is that they’re also pretty nerdy.

In fact, you might even say that all great musicians are like that. Because, if you think about it, they kind of have to be … right? Making music is all about patterns, patience, and practice. It takes time and focus. So to get really good at making music, you have to get into it. And that means you have to geek out a bit.

But what’s nice is … it’s all worth it. Seriously—practice doesn’t just make you perfect. It also makes you cool. (Just ask The Cars’ front man, Ric Ocasek, who’s married to model, Paulina Porizkova.) You see, one of the best things about music is that it turns nerds into hipsters. Like magic.

If you don’t believe me, then check out these famous examples from history. All of these people are well-known for being cool (while secretly living the life of a music nerd):

Don’t get me wrong … I love all of these guys. And each one of them is very cool. But that’s because they’re all really good at what they do. And, of course, they got that good because … well, because they’re complete music nerds. Anyway, who do you think is the biggest music geek of all time? And what instruments do they play? I’d love to hear what you think.

Like I said … chords make music especially cool. They add weight to a song and provide support for the melody. By giving our ears something to listen to, chords just make life more interesting.

At the same time, chords also create a little more work for our hands. And that’s because, on a keyboard, the right hand focuses on the melody (in the treble staff), while the left hand picks out the notes of each chord (in the bass staff).

As it turns out, it’s all pretty easy. Sure, it might take a little more coordination … as we play melodies with one hand and chords with the other. But it’s also very basic. Like learning to dance, ride a bike, or jump rope, it just takes some focus … and a little practice.

And who knows … after a little while, you might even learn to play like this:

Now that we know how to play music’s most popular chord—the major triad—let’s see it in action, shall we? In our next song, we’ll focus on hitting each major chord with the left hand … while playing the melody line with the right hand. In music notation, we show this by splitting the bass staff and treble staff, like so:

Because chords are used to support the melody, they’re usually written on the bass staff. Like pillars or columns, chords lay a solid foundation for the melody—which is usually written on the treble staff. By playing the chords and the melody together, we simply blend all the notes into a full and complete song.

To keep things simple, our first song includes just one major chord, C major … while the melody is based on the C major scale.

You’ve definitely heard this tune before. Some of you might know it as “Are You Sleeping?” … and others might know it as “Frere Jacques.” But either way, it’s pretty basic. Because we’ll play just one C major chord at the start of each measure.

At first, it might be a little hard to get both of your hands working together. But that’s only natural, so don’t worry. It can be a little strange to play one part with your left hand … and another part with your right hand. Which is why a lot of musicians learn new songs using a special trick. They simply practice each part separately before putting the melody and chords together.

To see what I mean, let’s try doing this with our new song. With the right hand, start out by going through the melody alone a couple of times. It’s in the key of C (with a 4/4 time signature), so it should be pretty easy to learn. Then with your left hand, go through the song again, hitting only the chords at the start of each measure. And once each hand is ready, go back to the beginning and play both the melody and the chords together.

The chords on the bass staff are written exactly under the notes of the melody. So as you play, make sure all the notes are lined up and played together at the same time. That way, the song will sound right and everyone will be happy.

Seriously … who knew that adding a few chords could make our music sound so much better?