When the movie “Jurassic Park” came out in 1993, people were excited by the idea of recreating life that had been frozen in time. You remember how it goes … scientists found some really old dinosaur DNA that had been preserved in amber (petrified tree sap).

Well, just like scientists, musicians do the same kind of thing every day. Only instead of wearing lab coats and rubber gloves, musicians usually prefer sneakers and jeans.

What I mean to say is—music notation is a lot like that amber from the movie “Jurassic Park.” Like a mosquito frozen in time, the notes on a page of sheet music are nicely preserved … waiting for us to bring them to life. All those symbols on the staff lines hold the information we need to breathe life into any song.

It’s pretty cool, really. Like strands of DNA, music notation tells us exactly how a song is made. Which makes me wonder … what songs would you like to play? Music has got to be more powerful than a bunch of dinosaurs, right? So, what kind of power do you think we could unleash?