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Left hand/right hand

Posted in Education by Mike
Feb 02 2010
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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).

4Feb2009_BlogPic1_Staves

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.

4Feb2009_BlogPic2_DanceBikeJump

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

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Tagged as: artist, chords, ColorMusic, intervals, keyboard, melody, music, musicians, performance, practice, tip

“My Best Friend’s Girl”

Posted in Entertainment by Mike
Jan 26 2010
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Have you ever heard a song on the radio that you immediately loved? And for some reason, it just gets stuck in your head and stays there forever? Well, that happened to me the first time I heard “My Best Friend’s Girl” by The Cars. When I was a kid, it was one of my favorite songs. But I never got the album … until last week when I rediscovered this song and fell in love with it all over again.

26Jan2009_BlogPic1_TheCars

Honestly, I can’t remember what life was like before it. This song was written in 1978. And, if you ask me, the band should have won a Nobel prize for that recording. It’s brilliant … everything about it is excellent. The whole song is like sugar spraying out of my stereo speakers.

29Jan2009_BlogPic2_Speakers

It’s got kind of a honkey-tonk sound … with a 1950s vibe, which is very cool. Every time I listen to this song, there’s something new to hear. It’s full of good harmonies, slick guitar solos, bouncing keyboards, and solid drums. And of course, the lyrics are awesome—telling the story of some guy whose girl left him for his best friend … sort of like this picture (from AwkwardFamilyPhotos):

29Jan2009_BlogPic3_Prom

Nice.

Seriously, though … you should check it out. This song never gets old. (Even though the video is pretty ancient.)

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Tagged as: artist, lyrics, melody, music, musicians, performance, song

La Boca is “irresistible”

Posted in Entertainment by Mike
Jan 20 2010
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Wow … have you seen Muse’s new album cover for “The Resistance”? The record came out last September. And the artwork is crizazy. (In fact, it kind of reminds me of Escher.) I haven’t heard any of the songs yet … but the cover art gets an A+ in my opinion. Check it out….

20Jan2009_BlogPic1_TheResistance

Seriously, this is some good stuff. Which is why it won the “Best Art Vinyl Award” for 2009. Each year, the public votes on the very best album covers. And this year, the choice was obvious. This image was created by a London design firm called La Boca. And it’s got to be one of the all-time best.

I know you shouldn’t judge a record by its cover. But the songs on this record have got to be pretty good, right? Maybe I should give it a listen. (Muse’s last album, “Black Holes and Revelations,” was pretty nice.) Anyway, all I know is this … La Boca rocks! According to their website, it was founded as an “independent design circus” in 2002. And it specializes in graphic design for music, film and fashion. Some of their clients include Warner, Capitol, Sony, and others. Check them out—their portfolio is awesome.

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Tagged as: art, artist, color, Escher, music, musicians, Patterns, visual
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Archives

  • ▼2010 (20)
    • ▼March (5)
      • Other chords
      • Naturally cool
      • Pancakes and waffles
      • Chord inversions
      • Hold please
    • ►February (7)
      • Quiz #5
      • Changing chords
      • The same old squares and circles
      • Black-and-white TV
      • A little more practice
      • Musical nerds
      • Left hand/right hand
    • ►January (8)
      • Using major chords
      • "My Best Friend's Girl"
      • Happy hands
      • La Boca is “irresistible”
      • The major chord
      • Mosaic patterns
      • Chords
      • Quiz #4
  • ►2009 (70)
    • ►December (10)
      • Musical trophies #1
      • Dots and ties
      • Happy X-Mas (2009)
      • Musical rests
      • Zat you, Santa Claus?
      • Who should make music?
      • Pitch + Duration
      • Let it snow!
      • Escher head
      • Time signatures
    • ►November (6)
      • Quiz #3
      • Notes per measure
      • Music is time
      • Jackson Hole, Wyoming
      • Music notation is like "Jurassic Park"
      • Duration
    • ►October (12)
      • Have a thrilling Halloween
      • Halloween is the greatest
      • Color in artwork
      • Dumbing down ... or smarting up?
      • Starting a melody
      • Guitar Hero is on to something
      • Is music really that hard?
      • Other scales
      • Squares and circles are everywhere
      • C Moon
      • All the same intervals
      • Music tattoos #2
    • ►September (13)
      • Musical symbols
      • Key signatures
      • Moonwalkin'
      • Quiz #2
      • Major scales in notation
      • Musical Cake
      • Knuckle crackers
      • Naturals, sharps, and flats
      • Quiz #1
      • Music tattoo #1
      • The evolution of M.C. Escher
      • The C major scale
      • Yellow
    • ►August (11)
      • The grand staff
      • Gods of music
      • Pitch
      • Music notation
      • Music emergency kit
      • I like artists
      • Making new patterns
      • All 12 keys are the same
      • Letters and numbers
      • The nuts and bolts of music
      • Six basic patterns
    • ►July (18)
      • All intervals
      • Color keyboard
      • Let love rule
      • Back to square one
      • The chromatic scale ... again
      • The circle of fifths
      • The major scale
      • Musical patterns in action
      • The chromatic scale
      • How music works
      • How color works
      • Yeah, but which colors?
      • Seeing Sound
      • Invisible Patterns
      • Music and Escher
      • da Vinci
      • Pythagoras the Greek!
      • Where are all the real musicians?

Categories

  • ▶Color Music (51)
    • Other chords
    • Chord inversions
    • Changing chords
    • The same old squares and circles
    • Black-and-white TV
    • A little more practice
    • Using major chords
    • The major chord
    • Mosaic patterns
    • Chords
    • Musical trophies #1
    • Dots and ties
    • Musical rests
    • Pitch + Duration
    • Time signatures
    • Notes per measure
    • Duration
    • Dumbing down ... or smarting up?
    • Starting a melody
    • Is music really that hard?
    • Other scales
    • Squares and circles are everywhere
    • All the same intervals
    • Key signatures
    • Major scales in notation
    • Naturals, sharps, and flats
    • The C major scale
    • The grand staff
    • Gods of music
    • Pitch
    • Music notation
    • I like artists
    • Making new patterns
    • All 12 keys are the same
    • Letters and numbers
    • The nuts and bolts of music
    • Six basic patterns
    • All intervals
    • Color keyboard
    • Back to square one
    • The chromatic scale ... again
    • The circle of fifths
    • The major scale
    • The chromatic scale
    • How music works
    • How color works
    • Yeah, but which colors?
    • Seeing Sound
    • Invisible Patterns
    • Music and Escher
    • da Vinci
  • ▶Education (21)
    • Naturally cool
    • Musical nerds
    • Left hand/right hand
    • Happy hands
    • Who should make music?
    • Music is time
    • Music notation is like "Jurassic Park"
    • Musical symbols
    • Knuckle crackers
    • The evolution of M.C. Escher
    • Music notation
    • Music emergency kit
    • Six basic patterns
    • All intervals
    • Color keyboard
    • Back to square one
    • The chromatic scale ... again
    • The circle of fifths
    • The major scale
    • Pythagoras the Greek!
    • Where are all the real musicians?
  • ▼Entertainment (22)
    • Pancakes and waffles
    • Hold please
    • "My Best Friend's Girl"
    • La Boca is “irresistible”
    • Happy X-Mas (2009)
    • Zat you, Santa Claus?
    • Let it snow!
    • Escher head
    • Jackson Hole, Wyoming
    • Have a thrilling Halloween
    • Halloween is the greatest
    • Color in artwork
    • Guitar Hero is on to something
    • C Moon
    • Music tattoos #2
    • Moonwalkin'
    • Musical Cake
    • Music tattoo #1
    • Yellow
    • Making new patterns
    • Let love rule
    • Musical patterns in action
  • ▶Quiz (5)
    • Quiz #5
    • Quiz #4
    • Quiz #3
    • Quiz #2
    • Quiz #1
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