Basically, it’s kind of a science fiction theme. The show follows a group of people who “slide” between alternate worlds or realities. One of the people is a scientist who invented this machine that malfunctions every few hours. So each episode is about how the group survives travelling through these different worlds.

In one episode, they find themselves in a world where America had lost the Revolutionary War. And they experience what life would have been like 250 later (in the 1990s). In another episode, they land in a world where history had taken a totally different turn. Each season of the show is a series of “what if’s.” And you get to see how things might be if history had been changed.

So my question is, “What if Isaac Newton really had cracked the code to Color Music?” How good would music be these days? Or what if Aristotle starting working with Color Music way back in the day? We’d probably have super-human musicians walking the streets.

What do you think things will be like in 100 years? Now that we have Color Music, things are going to speed up. Students will learn faster. And people are going to gain amazing insight into how music works. It’s very exciting!

Anyway, what are your predictions for the future? How do you envision the changes you’ll make using Color Music?

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 And it frees curious minds from the tyranny of outdated, old-school thinking … which assumes that slogging through ages of traditional music lessons is the only way.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!

But there are other good combos, too. Like peanut butter and jelly … sopapilla and cheesecake … and “The Wizard of Oz” with “Dark Side of the Moon.” Of course, that last one is a little strange. But it works!

There are even stranger combinations out there, which don’t seem to go together. Like pickles and ice cream … cinnamon and avacados … and The Backstreet Boys. But one of the weirdest pairings would be Lenny Kravitz and Benjamin Franklin. I actually like both of these guys a lot. But what would they think of each other?

I mean, can you picture Benjamin Franklin taking off his bifocal glasses to sit back and relax – while listening to Lenny’s song, “Believe”? It’s an odd image. And seriously, what would be going through his head?

The song starts out with a beautiful organ playing. In Ben Franklin’s world of the 1700s, he’d probably associate that sound with a church organ. Then the drums would probably make him think of revolutionary war drums rattling. And who knows what he’d think of the electric guitar? While this song sounds normal to us, it would be a totally foreign thing to his ears.

Anyway, take off your bifocals for a minute, sit back, and listen to this song with a fresh perspective. And imagine you’re Benjamin Franklin. It’s interesting to hear music from a new angle.

How do I know this? Because I found these super cool tree ornaments when I woke up this morning. Twelve Color Music notes. Sweet!

Let’s make our own. They’re easy!

Topic:

Make your own tree ornaments.

Supplies:

• 12 sheets of colored paper — one for each color of the chromatic scale
• square and circle templates open on your computer
• scissors
• glue
• tape
• string or fishing line
• printer

Activity:

1. Split your paper into two piles — one that will become circles, one that will become squares. Print the shapes.

2. Cut out all the shapes. Cut along each shape’s outer edge.

3. We will work on the circles first, so set the squares aside. On your first circle ornament, grab the rectangular piece and dab a little glue on one end.

Now, touch the other end to the glue end, so it makes a loop.

4. Grab a green circle and squeeze a line of glue down the middle, then stick the loop to the top.

5. Dab a little glue to the loop, and then attach a circle to the top. So the loop should be sandwiched between two circles that are lined up to each other perfectly.

6. On the top circle, squeeze a line of glue right down the center like you did before, and stick another circle on top.

Repeat this process until you have three circles on either side of the loop. All the circles should be glued down the middle.

Do this for all of the circle ornaments. Set them all aside to dry. Now we’ll make the square ornaments!

7. First, we will fold the edges. In the end, we want the black lines to be hidden inside the box, but we also want to use the black lines to help show us where to fold.

To start, fold along each line so that the line is facing out.

Then, go back through and on each crease, fold it the other way, so that the black line is hidden inside.

8. Next, we will attach the string. Squeeze a blob of glue onto the middle of the center square. (It is the square that has a square on each of its four sides.)

Now, lay the string over the glue, then smash the circle on top.

9. Time to glue all the flaps down! We want to tuck the flaps in, so put the glue on the outside of each flap. It is best to start at one end and work your way to the other end.

Press the flap to the inside of the box.

10. When you just have the lid left, skip the glue. Instead, tuck the flaps in, then tape the edges closed.

Now finish the rest of the square ornaments. Once they are all done, let’s get back to the circles and finish them. They should be dry by now.

11. Grab your first circle ornament. Bend the sides — along the glue line down the middle — back and forth.

12. On one of the sides, put a little dab of glue near the bottom.

Now, press the dab of glue to the side next to it.

13. On the other side of the second flap, dab a little glue near the top.

Just like before, press the dab of glue to the side next to it.

14. Work your way around the circle until you go all the around.

String your line through the loop and you’re done!

How do your new ornaments look on the tree?

1) Download and install MuseScore — a powerful, free music notation editor for your computer

2)Install the Color Music plugin — the official Color Music® plugin for MuseScore

3) Immediately colorize your music notation with the click of a button — it’s super easy!

This is a cool picture. And it’s of musician Josh Pyke as he filmed the video for his song, “Make You Happy.” The special boat was created to the exact specifications of the Maton acoustic guitar that he plays.

For the record, Pyke does not regularly ride through the Sydney Harbor in t his boat. (But he’s apparently a huge fan of the slide guitar.)

(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!

Alright, alright, that was practically a freebie. It’s “See you later.”

You must know this one. Did you come up with “I have seen you two before?” This next one isn’t quite as easy:

Aaaand it’s “Kiss and makeup.” Did you get it?

If you want to keep going, print this page. It includes 10 fresh rebus puzzles! The 10 answers are at the very bottom of this blog post, past the picture below. Enjoy!

Answers

1. Backwards glance

2. Lucky break

3. Forgive and forget

4. Falling in love

5. Corporate downsizing

6. Growing economy

7. I’m bigger than you.

8. Go for it.

9. Torn in half

10. Painless operation

Call them whatever you want — they’re totally fun and addicting!

Have you ever done a Rebus puzzle? They’ve been around for a long time — Rebus puzzles were popular during the 18th and 19th centuries. They were sometimes used as a code (some were written in such a way that they had to be held in front of a mirror to be read) and a pastime.

So what is a Rebus puzzle? It’s a playful way of writing or drawing a word, expression, or sentence. And while it’s fun to try to figure each one out, solving Rebus puzzles is a great way to get the juices flowing in your brain. In order to become great musicians, we need to get good at quickly recognizing patterns. Music is more than just hearing patterns — it’s seeing patterns, too.

The best way to really get it is to try a few. So here’s an example. Can you guess the expression? (The answer is just below the box, so don’t scroll down too far until you have your guess!)

Time’s up! It’s “extended family.” Get it? I bet you want another chance to guess, so here’s another Rebus:

Think you know it? It’s “You are a cutie pie.” That was easy, but just in case you missed it, here’s one more example:

This last Rebus is “mind over matter.”

How did you do? Now that you’re warmed up, print this sheet for 10 more. Scroll down past the picture below to find the answers.

]]> http://mycolormusic.com/2011/09/rebus-puzzles-1/feed/ 0 http://mycolormusic.com/2011/09/consonance-and-dissonance-part-4/ http://mycolormusic.com/2011/09/consonance-and-dissonance-part-4/#comments Tue, 06 Sep 2011 02:41:08 +0000 admin http://thecolormusiccompany.com/?p=4458 This post is continued from “Consonance and Dissonance (Part 3)“

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!)