To see what I mean, check out the following shortlist of extra cool musicians. Am I right … or am I wrong? Do these musicians seem especially cool to you?

Music basically took these guys to the next level. Sure, they might have made some pretty cool accountants, police officers, or airline pilots. But they’re all especially hip because of music.

So, all I want to know is … what will music do for you?

Squares and circles show up at breakfast … in my waffles and pancakes …

… they jump out at me while I’m walking down the street …

… and they even follow me home when I’m sitting down to play a nice game of checkers.

Really. The next thing you know, I’ll start dreaming about them in my sleep….

I mean, when we go from playing a C major chord to playing a G major chord in the song “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” our fingers have to travel pretty far down the keyboard. And that can make things a little difficult.

So to work around this issue, musicians sometimes rearrange the notes of a chord. That way, they can easily change chords by moving just a couple of fingers. To see what I mean, check out the following versions of the G major chord:

All three of these chords are actually the same. We can play the same G major chord as “1-3-5” … or as “3-5-1” … or even as “5-1-3.” It really doesn’t matter. We simply call the different versions of this chord “inversions.”

Just like in scales, the strongest and most defining note of a chord is its tonic note (or “root”). And when we play a chord with its root at the bottom, we say it’s in “root position.” For example, the root position of the G major chord is played as “1-3-5” … or G-B-D. This basic arrangement of notes is the most common way to play any chord.

But chord inversions are also pretty popular. And you’ll see them a lot in music. For example, we can easily play the “first inversion” of this G major chord by moving B (note 3) to the bottom. Or we could play the same chord in its “second inversion” by moving D (note 5) to the bottom. Either way, we’re still playing the same G major chord … which you can hear as we play through the following song.

Just like before, our left hand simply moves between a C major chord and a G major chord. But because the G major chord is played in its first inversion (with B—note 3—on the bottom), our fingers have to move a lot less. The shift between the two chords takes much less effort. And that makes the song easier to play.

To get an even better feel for how chord inversions work, try playing the following chords in each key. Just like before, we’re still just playing the same basic major chords. Only now, we’re giving our hands (and brains) a little more exercise. Remember to focus on your fingers and the notes as you play. And don’t forget to stop and smile every once in a while … because your friends are going to be jealous of your cool new skills….

No offense to you smooth jazz fans, of course. Maybe the “On-Hold Music Corporation” just doesn’t have a good record collection. But the hold music I’ve heard is usually painful….

Until recently, that is. Because it seems like the on-hold music is getting a better. Almost like companies know that we’ll hate them if their music sucks. And the truth is, we probably will.

In fact, the on-hold music is so good these days that I’m sometimes bothered when they finally pick up. A couple of weeks ago, I almost asked that I be put back on hold just to hear the end of the song(!). Seriously, it was some cool piano piece that had a really good rhythm. Maybe I’m just going insane.

Either way, what album would a company have to play to make you happy to stay on hold for 30 minutes? Seriously … let me know.

a)  “Oh, Romeo. Oh, Romeo. Where for art thou, Romeo?”
b)  “Mary Had a Little Lamb … whose fleece was white as snow.”
c)  “There here, I tell you … the aliens! They’re here!”

Well, if you guessed option (b), then you are correct … and you get five points. When Thomas Edison invented the phonograph in 1877, he immediately gained worldwide fame. And the first words he spoke into his new recording machine were “Mary Had a Little Lamb.” The same lyrics of the song we just played. (We’re making history, people!)

Edison’s new invention was so unexpected to the public that it seemed almost magical. In fact, he even became known “The Wizard of Menlo Park” (which was the name of the town he lived in). His first phonograph machine recorded on tinfoil wrapped around a grooved cylinder. And to be honest, the sound quality was pretty bad. But hey, it was radically new technology at the time … so it blew people’s minds away.

Along with the phonograph, Thomas Edison also invented some really strange stuff. Like the motion-picture camera, the light bulb, and even the microphone. In other words, he was a smart dude. In fact, I’d even say he was one of the best. Because his work changed the world … and it made modern music possible.

I mean, think about … without Edison, we wouldn’t have music videos, stage lighting, stereos, or microphones. And that’s why he definitely ranks right up there with the greatest gods of music.

But things get even more interesting when we change chords in a song. After all, the C major chord isn’t the only game in town. We can play all sorts of chords to create some very cools sounds. For example, check out the song “Mary Had a Little Lamb” below. By adding an extra G major chord to the mix, everything sounds a little better.

Now that we’ve added another chord, our left hand gets to move a little more throughout the song. And it’s kind of fun. Instead of keeping our fingers in place over the C major chord, we get to move back and forth between C major and G major … like this:

Both chords have the same note pattern of “1-3-5,” so we can keep our left hand in the same basic shape. We just have to move our hands quickly enough to play the correct chord at the start of each measure. Don’t worry if you need to glance down every once in a while … to make sure you’re hands are moving to the right place.

Just like before, try playing each part separately first. Start out by focusing on the melody. Once you’ve played it alone a couple of times, your right hand will be ready. Then play through the chords to get a feel for how they should sound. And when each hand can play its part, try putting them together. The end result will sound awesome.

Chords might take a little more coordination as our fingers work together at the same time. But no worries … we have Color Music on our side. By using colors and shapes, we can quickly pick out the right notes and intervals. Which makes it easy to find and play any chord.

Just like before, the colors, squares, and circles, show us which notes to play and why. And that means we’ll spend less time thinking … and a lot more time playing.

As always, those nice, little squares and circles make life good. Like a pattern of lights guiding our way, they show us exactly what we should play.

I mean, who would by a black-and-white television? Unless they were living in the 1950s. Everybody knows that color is better. The image is clearer. And pictures are just more interesting when you see them in color.

As it turns out, it’s the same with music. Black-and-white notation is fine, I guess … if you’re from the 1800s. But life gets really good with Color Music. Everything has more depth and meaning because it really lets you see where you’re going.

Old-school purists might complain that anything new is inferior. Saying things like, “the hard way is the best way.” But they’re missing out (!). And they’re probably the type of people who still prefer things like sundials, candles, and wagons. In the end, they can have them. Because we’ve got better things to do … moving forward at the speed of light.

Again, this new song is pretty simple. All we have to do is play a C major chord at the start of each measure with our left hand. And with our right hand, we’ll play the notes of the melody … which is based on the C major scale (like all the songs we’ve played so far).

Just like before, it may help if you practice the melody alone with your right hand first. Then, once you know which notes to play and when to play them, go through the song hitting just the chords in each measure with your left hand. Once each hand knows its part, go back to the beginning of the song and play each measure … mixing both parts together.

It also helps to focus on playing one measure at a time. For example, as you go through this song, remember to play both hands together at the start of each measure. And keep your left hand in place until your right hand has played all the melody notes in that measure. Then repeat this same process in the following measures until the end of the song.

After you’ve learned one or two more songs, things will get easier … I promise. Teaching your hands to work like this is a lot like learning to swim or ride a bike. Before long, you barely have to think about what your hands are doing. But until then, the best thing to do is practice.

Of course, our hands have got it pretty easy … now that we can actually see which notes to play. And that’s why Color Music is so awesome. It lets us focus more on the fun of music … and less on the mechanics of playing.

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.