(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!

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:

And he’s especially good at playing the harmonica. You know, that little metal instrument you play with your mouth. When John Popper starts to play, everybody stops to listen. It’s amazing.

But the first few times I saw Blues Traveler on TV, I was confused. I wondered, “Why is that guy wearing machine gun bullet straps across his chest? That’s a weird stage costume.” Ahhh, but it turns out I was wrong. John Popper’s chest straps aren’t for bullets—they hold all his harmonics!

Because each harmonica plays only one key, he has a whole arsenal of harmonicas … read to grab. It’s pretty cool. So if a song is in the key of C, John Popper picks out his “C” harmonica. If the next song is in Eb, then he’ll choose the “Eb” harmonica, and so on.

To see the man in action, check out this band’s most popular song, Run Around.” This is harmonica playing at its best.

We all know musicians like tattoos. (Although, I’m not really included.) For example, Lenny Kravitz, Slash, Dave Navarro—and pretty much every other rock guitarist on earth—all seem to sport a bit of ink. Apparently, tattoos just go with the territory these days.

But, hey, what about people who have tattoos of musicians on them? You know what I mean. Some super fans go all out celebrating their favorite music stars. It’s crazy. A few of the pictures actually look pretty real, too.

Who would you pick if you had the choice? Which face would you prefer? All I know is, I probably would not go with “Animal” from the Muppets. Sure, I said he was cool. But, uh, maybe picking a good tattoo artist is just as important….

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, back in the day, people seemed to have more patience.

Right now, you can’t even walk into a store without being bombarded by big Santa Claus displays and loud Christmas music … lots and lots of Christmas music. Although it’s not even December yet. Sheesh….

Don’t get me wrong. I’m totally excited for the season. And I have to admit that Christmas music has, hands down, some of the very best melodies—ever. But these songs are special partly because they are rare. I mean, I can listen to a John Lennon record like “Imagine” any time of year. But a song like “Happy X-Mas (War is Over)” has a much more limited window—say, from December 1 to December 25. It’s true.

Anyway, I guess I’ll have to wait a little longer. Then when the holidays really begin, I can put on some classic Bing Crosby tunes, fire up the oven, and bake myself some Christmas cookies … as it snows outside.

Whenever I drive down the road, there are all sorts of signs reminding people to be safe and courteous. Some signs caution you to stay alert … others warn of drunk driving … and others tell you to stay “buckled up.” But there’s one sign I’ve never seen when I’m behind the wheel. And I think this is a new law that should be passed:

Don’t get me wrong. I love ABBA … and that’s the point. Their music is so good that, when you blast it on your car stereo, it’s pretty much like driving under the influence.

So if you get pulled over on a traffic stop, here’s my proposed list of fines:

• No seatbelt:  $50 (USD)
• Speeding:  $100 (USD)
• Drunk driving:  $1,000 (USD)
• Reckless ABBA fan:  well … you should just lose your license. Because hey, that music is dangerous.

There just isn’t any way I could drive down the street (listening to “Dancing Queen”) without hitting a light pole … or running a red light. And that’s a fact.

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) He’s currently serving (up to) 25 years in prison

Did you guess correctly? This is Lou Pearlman—former manager of super groups like The Backstreet Boys and NSync. In the late 1990s, when Pearlman was at the height of his fame, he was pulling in millions of dollars (USD).

It was all fun and games … like going to clubs and having pizza parties with Justin Timberlake and the Boys.

But then in 2006, Lou got into a little legal trouble. Okay … a lot of trouble with the police. It turns out, he had been stealing a fortune from investors and various “business partners.” And in the end, Pearlman was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison, after pleading guilty to charges of conspiracy, money laundering, and making false statements during a bankruptcy proceeding. (Holy cow.)

Apparently, all that fame, money, and music went to his head. So now, instead of selling number one hits on the radio, Lou is just sitting behind bars—singing the blues.

For all you ladies out there, if you had to choose a rock-and-roll name for yourself, which one would you pick? The radio is full of songs, tributes, ballads, and odes to special women. So there are plenty of options for you.

Some of them are edgy … like “Roxanne” (by The Police). While others are a little more sweet … like “Julia” (by The Beatles).

But really, if it was up to you, what name would you adopt as your own?

1. Billy Jean (by Michael Jackson)
2. Lucille (by Little Richard)
3. Jennifer (by Donovan)
4. Zoe (by Lenny Kravitz)
5. Amy (by Britney Spears)

Some people say Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was the greatest composer of all time. And I’m tempted to agree, when I think of catchy melodies like “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.” But it turns out that he might not deserve all the credit. Because history shows he sometimes got a little help … from his pet bird.

According to legend, Mozart was visiting a Viennese pet shop in 1784 when he found a small bird that could mimic snatches of popular songs at the time. To test the animal, Mozart whistled part of a melody he was composing. And when the bird immediately repeated the same notes, he was delighted.

Mozart bought the bird on the spot, of course, and they quickly became good friends. In fact, his pet soon became a regular visitor in the music room—sitting on Mozart’s shoulder while he worked, whistling along with the music. There was just one problem—no matter how hard he tried, Mozart was never able to teach the bird to get every interval exactly right. So some of the notes it whistled were always off-pitch.

Anyway, one day, the pet flew over to the piano and began to sing a few notes of Mozart’s new Concerto. But since it had a bad habit of getting a few notes wrong, the melody sounded a little different than what the composer had written. As luck would have it, though, the bird’s whistling sounded even better than Mozart’s original idea. So the composer simply rewrote the music … building the bird’s imperfections into his now-famous “Piano Concerto in G Major.”

So yeah, Mozart was a genius. But he also had a secret weapon … his pet songbird. Which makes me wonder. What special tricks can you use to turn mistakes into happy accidents? Really—you never know what cool stuff is out there waiting to happen. We just have to recognize true inspiration when it strikes. Because you know, it can make the difference between simply being good … or being totally great.