A while back, my wife turned me on to a TV show she used to watch as a kid. It’s called “Sliders” and it starred Jerry O’Connel. We watched a bunch of old reruns. And even though it was pretty low budget, the idea was pretty cool. Basically, it’s kind of a science fiction theme.
Lately, I’ve been thinking about weird combinations … taking two things I like and then putting them together. Color and Music are the best example. Because when they get paired up, magic happens. But there are other good combos, too. Like peanut butter and jelly … sopapilla and cheesecake … and “The Wizard of Oz”
(… continued from “Color Code, part 3“) 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
(… continued from “Color Code, part 2“) When we apply numbers to music, the poor fit becomes obvious. While the musical pattern repeats seamlessly, the number labels look choppy and awkward. And it gets worse because letters have this same problem. Like the number line, the alphabet is also a linear pattern. So when
(… continued from “Color Code, part 1“) The old, medieval system of notation was sloppy … at best. The reason, my friends, has to do with the difference between linear and cyclical patterns. (Yes, that sounds geeky and technical. But it actually makes a lot of sense.) You see, music is really all about cyclical patterns.
!!! Warning: Music nerdery ahead !!! Okay, so I’ve already said that traditional notation is confusing. And that standard music symbols are too complicated. But the truth is, there’s even more to it. Because the letters and numbers musicians use aren’t just inconvenient—they are fundamentally flawed. And that’s why students continue to struggle. In
Here’s my prediction for 2011: it’s going to be a great year. And for music, it will be outstanding. Yes, we’ll have cool, new technologies … like high-tech stereo speakers, Zunes, and iPods. But what’s going to make 2011 really cool isn’t the way we listen to music. It’s all about how we will actually
Traditional music methods aren’t all bad. Mainly, because they give us a common vocabulary—a shared language that musicians can use to communicate. Over the centuries, music nerds have created all sorts of handy words to describe sound. So that when we talk about “tonics,” or “sharp-fives,” or “E-flat,” you know what I mean. The trouble is, traditional methods start with
In the United States, people go crazy for Christmas. Or, better said, retail chains and grocery stores go crazy. Totally out of their heads. I mean, they start selling Christmas merchandise months in advance. Like BEFORE Halloween! Seriously—what is up with that? I like the holidays as much as the next guy, I suppose. But,
Today’s pop quiz is a fun one, y’all. Can you name this face? It might be kind of hard to guess, actually. So here are a couple of clues: 1) This man is one of the most famous impresarios (music industry managers) of all time 2) He managed several very popular boy band groups 3)