If we added up all the time people save learning with Color Music — every streamlined minute, hour, day, and week — we’re talking about entire lifetimes saved. So I guess you could say that Color Music saves lives! And it frees curious minds from the tyranny of outdated, old-school thinking … which assumes that slogging through ages of traditional music lessons is the only way.

Ahhh … but I wax philosophical at the new year. Long story short, 2012 is going to be awesome. So let’s leap into the future … and make some music!

(Also, you might notice some interesting number patterns going on here … he’s keeping beat with music in 4/4 time … while juggling three balls … with two hands. It’s beautiful.) Thank you to my friend, Marcin, for sending us this link. Cheers!

Using Color Music, we can actually see the pattern of consonant and dissonant intervals. And without a doubt, the connection between complementary colors and tritones is awesome. But we can see even more. For example, check out the gradation bar below. It highlights exactly what’s going on:

As the colors approach the red tonic (1), they have higher levels of red … while the colors that approach the green tritone (b5) have higher levels of green. Get it? The complementary colors illustrate opposite tritons. And, at the same time, the colors in between actually highlight the whole spectrum of intervals.

This pattern is even easier to see in a circular format. Again, the keys (or notes) that are closer to the tonic have higher levels of that color, while the more dissonant ones have increasingly higher levels of the dissonant tritone. Just like before, the connection between color and music is like magic!

To use an analogy, the tonic is like the life source … full of strong, consonant blood. But as you move in the direction of the dissonant tritone, it’s gradually bled dry. (Whoa.) Of course, this “red blood” analogy is convenient for describing the key of C, which happens to be red. But this same idea works for all 12 keys.

Another analogy is that the consonant tonic and its dissonant tritone are like the polar opposites of a single magnet. The more consonant keys are drawn to the tonic, while the more dissonant keys are repelled … gravitating toward the tritone. Which mean’s the keys/notes exactly in between—the major-sixth (A) and minor-third (Eb)—are neutralized, with equal allegiance to both extremes.

And … I could go on about the parallels with Star Wars, the force, and Luke Skywalker’s struggle to reconcile his affinity for Jedi principles and the temptation of turning to the dark side, in favor of some powerful paternal affection … but I won’t.

Anyway, you can see why I was geeking out with Ben, right? When we really looked at these patterns, it was amazing. And now, we can write better songs that sound good—much faster. So you really shouldn’t judge me, my friends. Because, if you’ve been following along, then you know it’s cool, too. (Happy songwriting!)

With Color Music, our spectrum of consonant and dissonant intervals starts to click. In the key of C, for example, we get a much better view of what this pattern is all about.

Of course, these colors may seem random at first. But as you look closer, some really cool stuff pops out. And I mean cool. The first is pretty obvious. Notice anything special about the red tonic (C) and its green tritone (Gb)?

Yep, the are complementary colors. Which happens to be a perfect analogy. In the world of color, complementary colors are complete opposites. And in the world of music, the tonic (1) and its tritone (b5) are complete opposites. So it only makes sense that these patterns overlap. (In fact, it’s even spooky cool.)

But then it gets even better. Because Color Music shows us so much more….

The new book is jam-packed with lessons, exercises, and illustrations to get any beginner up and running fast. Sweet!

Check back—it’s coming very soon!

In music, consonant and dissonant intervals are super-important. Because they tell us which notes sound good together … and which notes sound bad. Using plain, old scale degrees, we can kind of see what these intervals look like—check it out. We just rearrange the 12 basic intervals into a sort of spectrum:

The tonic (1) is at one end because it’s the most consonant scale degree in any key. At the other end of the spectrum is the tritone (b5) … because it is, by far, the most dissonant scale degree. And in between are all the other scale degrees, which range from consonant on the left … to dissonant on the right.

Cool, huh? If we want a song to sound good, we just play lots of notes and chords that are consonant. In other words, we need to stick with the scale degrees near the tonic (1) at the left of the spectrum. And if we want our music to sound more edgy and dissonant, then we pick and choose from the intervals on the right.

But, of course, all of that is easier said than done. Because each of these little symbols can be confusing. So it’s still difficult to see what I’m talking about. No matter how hard you look, these scale degree symbols don’t really illustrate why some intervals are consonant … while other intervals are dissonant. And that’s a bummer.

Ahhh … but Color Music saves the day again. By looking at these scale degrees using colors and shapes, we get a much better view of what this spectrum is trying to show us….

Okay, we were totally geeking out. And, like any true music nerd, I actually got chills talking about these note intervals. Why? Because the note patterns that jumped out before our eyes were amazing.

In case you didn’t know, consonant and dissonant intervals are at the very heart of music theory. You might even say they make the musical world go round. Because these intervals tell us what sounds good and what sounds bad.

In a nutshell, a consonant interval is the space between any pair of notes that sound really nice together. For example, if two notes sound like harmonious peanut butter and jelly, then you know they are consonant.

Dissonant intervals, on the other hand, sound like crap. So if two notes sound more like sour pickles and moldy cheese, then you know they are dissonant. And that’s why most musicians try to avoid these kinds of intervals. They sound terrible!

So the only question is, “How do we know which intervals are consonant and which intervals are dissonant?” If they’re so important in songwriting, then we need an easy way to select the best intervals. That way, our music will always sound good…..

But the colors alone can’t do the job. Which is why we need the note shapes, too. In Color Music, the squares and circles play an equally important role. Like an unsung hero, this shape code totally supports the color code.

It’s simple, really. For example, imagine we got rid of the alternating shapes and used only 12 colors. While the colors look nice, they don’t really show us any useful patterns.

Without the alternating note shapes, it’s almost impossible to tell each note apart. And that means we can’t see any connections between the notes either. All we get is 12 colors that look an awful lot alike.

But when we use squares and circles, everything suddenly pops. In a flash, we immediately can see which note is which. There is no need for guesswork. We just have a clear view of 12 separate notes.

In fact, these shapes even speed up our thinking. By highlighting musical intervals, the squares and circles help us see how the notes relate. And they show us much more than the basic whole-steps and half-steps.

For example, if a certain tonic note happens to be a square, then we already know the scale degrees of the other note shapes. Those squares must be notes M2 … M3 … #4/b5 … b6 … and b7. Easy!

Likewise, the circle notes must be b2 … b3 … 4 … 5 … 6 … and 7. (And this works the same way with all square tonic notes.)

Of course, the reverse is also true when the tonic note is a circle. The circles must include the 1 … M2 … M3 … #4/b5 … b6 … and b7.

And the squares include b2 … b3 … 4 … 5 … 6 … and 7.

Just as we’d expect, the note shapes help us quickly see every interval and pattern. So no matter what we play, Color Music does the trick. Tirelessly working to help our eyes and minds run at full speed.

Looking at music through the letters and numbers is like wearing a pair of opaque glasses. If you can’t really see through the lenses, then what is the point?

Ahhh … but this is where Color Music comes in. Because it finally solves our problem. Like a pair of x-ray goggles, it cuts through the clutter and reveals the patterns that are really at play. And it does this by using a special pattern of colors.

Like music, colors are also cyclical. They aren’t linear like letters and numbers. Which means they actually follow the same repeating patterns of music. In fact, the connection is so seamless it’s sort of spooky.

Not only that, but Color Music also outperforms both letters and numbers in the jobs they were supposed to do. You might even say it’s a double whammy. Like the letters, each color shows us which note is which. And at the same time, the colors show us how the notes relate better than the numbers ever could. It’s an unfair competition.

Of course, I could go on about the benefits of Color Music. But I think you get my point. Numbers and letters are a mere band-aid on an age-old problem. Instead of helping musicians master their craft, they throw up a roadblock to creativity.

Color Music, on the other hand, gives us a clear solution. It follows the logic that “nature loves simplicity.” And it’s a powerful new way to see sound. Which means we can easily play scales, chords, and progressions … faster than ever before.

So finally, we have a choice. Slog through an outdated system from the dark ages … or truly master music at the speed of light. It’s your choice. Enjoy!