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!

I missed her recent concert in my neck of the woods. But I heard it was great. It’s always cool—and rare—when a musician’s live performances are better than their studio recordings. But, according to YouTube, Sara Bareilles is even better in front of an audience. Perfect pitch and interesting melodies … very cool.

A great example is her performance of the song, “Bottle It Up.” Sitting with her band on a pier overlooking a lake, Sara B. totally shines. It’s really good stuff. Check it out:

Yep, I’m talking about Color Music®. The first real advancement in music theory since Guido d’Arezzo’s hot, new system of notation … in 1011! That’s right, 1000 years ago.

When it comes to hearing music, we live in a thoroughly modern world. Digital technologies let us listen to our favorite songs with ease. But when it comes to actually playing and understanding music, we’re still stuck in the Middle Ages. It is bizarre.

All that is changing with Color Music. Because, for the first time, we finally have a clear view of how music really works. No invisible sound or outdated symbols. Just clear words and pictures … and lots of fun.

In 2011, we will see a whole new wave of musicians. People of all ages cracking the code to their own imaginations. We have a revolution coming, my friends. And it’s all good!

!!!WARNING!!! Okay, okay, I know. As an artist, you’re probably anxious to cut to the chase. You might be thinking, “let’s put our skills to use, and start making some music already.” And to be honest, I’m right there with you. But have patience, my child. These next couple of lessons focus a bit more on the left brain … talking about structure, form, style, and so on.

But hey, it’s all good stuff to know. So just remember this: we’re looking at the science of sound, so you can then focus on the art of music. Get through these next few posts, and you’ll be well on your way to musical bliss.

Once we have the basic idea for a song—like a simple melody and chord progression—it has to be stretched and expanded into a song. And the easiest way to do this is using “repetition.” In fact, when we played through the blues progression before, we kind of saw how this works. By jumping back to the very beginning, we turned a short, 12-measure pattern into a rockin’ good song.

As it turns out, musicians use repetition like this all the time. It just sounds good. The music builds as you cycle through the notes. Only, instead of using big, clunky arrows to guide us through—like in the example above—musicians rely on more subtle symbols called “repeat signs.” Just like the common road signs you see in the street everyday, these little symbols help us navigate a piece of music like a roadmap.

It’s simple, really. Repeat signs give us direction on how to move through a song. They tell us when to repeat certain sections … and where to jump to other parts within the music. They also help us save space and reduce clutter. By recycling the notes in various measures, repeat symbols spare us the hassle of writing a bunch of notes over and over again. For example, check out the following pattern:

Using just two small repeat signs, we can play through this melody as many times as we want. We don’t have to rewite the exact same notes … because the repeat symbols already tell us everything we need to know. Simply play all four measures—then go back to the beginning and start again.

If we feel like it, we could continue bouncing back through this melody forever. But after a while, that would get a little boring … and maybe start sounding like a broken record. So instead of throwing us into an endless feedback loop, these repeat signs just mean to play through this pattern only once again—like this:

When you first see the start repeat marker in a song, ignore it. It doesn’t come into play until you see the end repeat marker. At that point, return to the start repeat sign, and play though the music between the markers again. After you’ve repeated those notes, keep moving through the song. There really isn’t much to it … just repeat a few notes, and then get back on the road. By using a couple of repeat sings, we’ve expanded our song a bit—while saving a bunch of space.

Sometimes, you might also see a song that doesn’t have any start repeat sign (like in the image above). But no worries … things work out just the same. When you arrive at the end repeat marker, simply return to the very beginning of the piece and play again.

In a nutshell, repeat signs are a nice, clean way to expand our music into larger and more interesting songs—as we can see in the exercise below. With only a few measures, these notes may sound like a cute little snippet of music. But with the repeat sign at the end, we add length to this song … and give it more power and muscle. Like watering a small plant, we use repetition to give life to our music. And help it grow into something a whole lot stronger.

Circle progressions are useful because they show us the general flow of chords in a song. From one chord to the next, we can see where things are going. And while each pattern may be unique, one rule always holds true—every song has a definite sense of movement and direction.

In other words, good music always moves forward with purpose. Sometimes, it marches at a brisk pace. And at other times, it might move at a leisurely stroll. But it never just wanders around aimlessly. From start to finish, music really knows where it’s headed. And that’s because each song begins and ends in the very same place—the tonic (I).

And why not? It is, after all, number one … literally. In any key, the tonic (I) is the star of the show, the big cheese, the boss. Which we can easily see with Color Music. As the chords follow the outline of a melody—moving away from, and then back toward, the tonic—a song goes through cycles of tension and release. And this creates a yin-yang motion that propels the music forward.

Together, the melody and progression follow the same path. In fact, they work hand-in-hand, like partners on a common journey. Moving in harmony, they stick together … always sharing the same destination—the tonic chord (I). It just sounds right.

The only question now is, “what’s next?” I mean, once we know these basic patterns, how do we turn them into bigger and better songs. Playing a few notes over a couple of measures is nice. But how do we go from a few measures to entire songs?

Well, the answer, my friends, is what we’ll look at next….

You know, nothing says “summer” like the song “Great Balls of Fire” by Jerry Lee Lewis. It’s a great melody, but the video might be even better. I can’t explain the sudden mood lighting … or the reason Lewis keeps looking at the ceiling. But, hey, that doesn’t matter:

Let’s try a little exercise, shall we? Close your eyes and imagine a couple of musical instruments. Which ones come to mind? If you’re like most people, then you probably pictured a piano keyboard or guitar … you, know the two most popular instruments on the planet.

But if you were thinking outside the box, then you might have imagined something different. Say, like the Scottish bagpipes. Although this instrument sounds awesome, it’s not quite as common. I don’t know—maybe it’s because bagpipes can make your face look like this:

Bagpipes are cool because they make a long, droning sound. (It’s kind of like the original DJ trance music.) By squeezing a bag fixed with pipes, players can play some pretty sweet stuff. Just breathe air into the bag, then press it with your arms … and it feels like you’re marching through the Scottish Highlands.

But before you go out and buy a new set of bagpipes, check this out. You might just make your own … like this guy:

I don’t know about you, but I’ve never actually looked at an animal and thought, “I could turn that into a xylophone or a flute.” But this guy has. And sure, maybe he hasn’t been invited to join any bands lately. But at least he can play a rockin’ goat bagpipe like nobody’s business….

It feels nice to know that nothing is set in stone. Because you can simply back out and start again. Unless, of course, you accidentally hit the following sequence of keys on your computer:

Believe me, it could happen. And, personally, this pattern of computer keyboard commands is one of my worst fears. (Oh, the humanity!)

On the other hand, piano keyboard patterns never stress me out. Music is way more forgiving than computers. So go ahead and get crazy. Computers might still be scary … but musical instruments always play nice.

You’ve got to admit, the flow between the tonic chord (I) and the dominant chord (V) is nice. And that’s because the movement from one triad to the next is like a short visit with a good friend. But after a while it’s fun to with hang out with other friends, too. So musicians like to mix it up a bit—adding even more chords to their songs.

In music, the next most popular choice is definitely the subdominant chord (IV)—because it’s closely related to both the tonic (I) and dominant (V) in the circle of fifths. Together, these three chords sound great. And since they’re the only major triads in a major scale progression, we can easily hear a special connection between them.

To see what I mean, try moving back and forth between the tonic (I), dominant (V), and subdominant (IV) triads. When they’re played one after another, it’s like music to our ears….

In fact, the flow from one chord to the next is so smooth that musicians sometimes call these triads the “primary chords” of any key. And they show up all the time in music. For example, turn on the radio and listen. Nearly every song in rock, folk, country, jazz, rap, and classical music is based on these three simple chords. It’s amazing!

To see how they work, let’s again look at that classic tune, “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” by Mozart. We already know this song has a great melody. But when we add those three simple chords of C major (I), F major (IV), and G major (V), it totally shines.

Before playing, try moving your left hand between these three chords a few times. That way, your muscles will remember where to move as you make your way through the song. And remember that the less you move your hand, the less likely you’ll be to hit a wrong note. So some of the chords are played as simple inversions.

Don’t worry about taking it one measure at a time. If you make a mistake, just go back and play those notes again—it’s all good. By adding another chord to the mix, we need a little more focus. But the result is worth it. Because the variety is good for our ears and our music stays fresh.

After you’ve rocked out a bit, try playing these same three chords in each key. Like a group of superstars, the tonic (I), subdominant (IV), and dominant (V) chords sound great together. What can I say? The “primary chords” are just cool.