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!

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 of x-ray goggles, it cuts through the clutter and reveals the patterns that are really at play. And it does this by using a special pattern of colors.

Like music, colors are also cyclical. They aren’t linear like letters and numbers. Which means they actually follow the same repeating patterns of music. In fact, the connection is so seamless it’s sort of spooky.

Not only that, but Color Music also outperforms both letters and numbers in the jobs they were supposed to do. You might even say it’s a double whammy. Like the letters, each color shows us which note is which. And at the same time, the colors show us how the notes relate better than the numbers ever could. It’s an unfair competition.

Of course, I could go on about the benefits of Color Music. But I think you get my point. Numbers and letters are a mere band-aid on an age-old problem. Instead of helping musicians master their craft, they throw up a roadblock to creativity.

Color Music, on the other hand, gives us a clear solution. It follows the logic that “nature loves simplicity.” And it’s a powerful new way to see sound. Which means we can easily play scales, chords, and progressions … faster than ever before.

So finally, we have a choice. Slog through an outdated system from the dark ages … or truly master music at the speed of light. It’s your choice. Enjoy!

(… 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 musicians apply letters to music, we hit the same dead end. Again, these symbols can’t truly illustrate the cyclical pattern of music. So, combined, letters and numbers cannot lead to real understanding. As they say, two wrongs don’t make a right.

But what can we expect? After all, traditional symbols are just a crude, medieval system. So we get what we get, right? In fact, looking at music through these symbols is like wearing a pair of opaque glasses. If you can’t really see through the lenses, then what is the point?

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.

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. Or patterns that repeat and cycle over again and again. Think of any composition by Bach and you know what I mean. Swirling, cascading patterns that have no beginning and no end. Just limitless, fluid strands of music that weave in and out, clean and symmetrical. This cyclical nature is a hallmark of music.

We can actually see this pattern on a piano keyboard. It’s just the same 12 keys repeated from low notes on the left … to high notes on the right.

Because this pattern is cyclical, we can easily wrap these notes into a circle, like this:

See what I mean? Music is just a repeating pattern—plain and simple.

The trouble starts when we throw letters and numbers into the mix. Because—unlike musical notes—these symbols are linear. So they can add more confusion than clarity.

A perfect example is the basic number line. (It’s even called a “line,” which means it is linear.) From left to right, this pattern rises from very low numbers to very high numbers. It’s like a long railroad track—straight and rigid.

Of course, we can try to wrap these numbers into a circle, like we did with the piano keyboard pattern. But we get a very different result. And it’s definitely not a cyclical pattern. Instead, what we get is something like an ordinary clock.

We start at a low number (1) and then work our way up to a high number (12) … only to drop back down to a low number (1) again. It’s a weird and unnatural pattern. And when we apply these numbers to music, the poor fit becomes even more obvious. While the musical pattern repeats seamlessly, the number labels look choppy and awkward.

!!! 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 fact, letter and number symbols have haunted musicians since the Middle Ages, when a few monks started using them as a way to  “see” music. Since sound was invisible, these little labels seemed like a good solution to a nagging problem. The letters were used to describe each note … while the numbers explained the relationships between notes.

At the time, those monks were pretty proud of themselves. And everybody assumed this fancy system did the trick. Yet modern students still get confused and discouraged. Why? Because the old, medieval solution 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….)

The thing I like about Color Music is that it’s so simple. Using only a few pictures, it gives us a clear view of music. Just a couple of basic patterns … nothing complex like traditional notation. We can learn any song in a flash through a direct connection between our instruments and the notes on a page. Nice!

For musicians, who have already learned the hard way, Color Music is a welcome sight. A straight shot to all the note patterns we’ve spent years studying. The only downside is we spend a little time “unlearning” old concepts. Dropping the mental baggage of old traditional music lessons and hitting the “reset” buttons in our brains.

The upside, of course, is that Color Music gets us back on track super fast. So our knowledge of music is clear and confusion-free.

But for new music students—and especially kids—there is no downside to Color Music. No “unlearning” or rebooting needed. New students experience only the upside of mastering music at the speed of light. With their minds primed for musical patterns, the sky really is the limit.

In fact, the possibilities are thrilling. And we’ve gotten a lot of great feedback—especially from people who see Color Music as the perfect way to teach kids. After all, children are the future … the next wave of stellar musicians. So it totally makes sense to help them begin on the right track. Because Color Music is totally the head start they’re looking for.

So … we are excited to announce our grand, new adventure, The Color Music Company. And our new website is even better. Go ahead, check it out! Everything has been designed with musicians in mind … especially kids.

Our new website has more information about Color Music … including free stuff to download, a bigger and better blog, and a products page where you can buy your own piano coding kit. Sweet! So, jump right in, my friends. You won’t find any headaches—just good fun.

The key to learning music is to understand note patterns first—then the language of a musician. That way, we can truly understand how to make music. No confusion or distractions with strange words or terminology. Just pure immersion into what music is really all about—simple patterns.

And what’s nice is these patterns are super simple. So tackling the language of music isn’t far behind. We just soak in the note patterns of scales, chords, and progressions, and then absorb the vocabulary of music. It’s a powerful one-two punch!

Of course, if Color Music is really as simple as it looks, then it should make sense to anyone, right? Even a kid. I mean, if you’ve been reading this blog for even a little while, then you know music ain’t rocket science. In reality, it’s just child’s play.

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 these terms. And that creates problems. If we just throw a bunch of strange phrases at a beginner, they’re only going to get confused.

No, a better way to understand music is to learn note patterns first—then the vocabulary of a musician. I mean, you wouldn’t try to teach a child the alphabet before they learned to speak, right? That would just overwhelm them because their brains don’t work that way.

In reality, any kid masters a language by sounding out words first—like “dog,” “car,” “ball,” etc.—BEFORE they try to spell these words. And long before they even think about tackling heavier concepts like nouns, punctuation, prepositional phrases, and so on.

See what I’m saying? Music works the same way. We need to hear and see notes before we try to label them with letters, numbers, or any of those crazy traditional symbols. It just makes sense. Standard music has so many terms it can make your head spin. But deep down the patterns of music are simple.

With Color Music, we can easily learn these patterns. And I think this is the best way to master music. As with any language, we’re better off learning the patterns first … then the vocabulary. That way, the vocabulary will be obvious, because we’ll already know exactly what we’re describing.

When you think about it, building a song is fairly easy. We just repeat a few parts … and organize each section into a nice, logical order. Usually, our songs will have a couple of different melodies—like a verse and  chorus—that keep things moving forward. And together, these sections create a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts.

In fact, music is structured like any other art form. We arrange songs in the same way a playwright organizes a play or an architect designs a building. The same basic elements of beginning, middle, and end are used to give a song meaning and shape.

In other words, the way we construct a song isn’t random. Usually, our music is built with a sense of balance between unity and variety. Which means our songs include both repetition and change.

Unity satisfies the listener’s need for stability … while variety provides something new and unexpected for more interest. Together, these two sides support each other—and make the other stand out. You ear will usually tell you what sounds good. Too much repetition or too much change can get boring. So musicians try to strike a balance between the two.

To see what I mean, imagine the classic yin yang symbol. With a strong balance of both unity and variety, our music can be like this—full of energy and life. But when we have an imbalance of parts, everything bleeds into one another. And all we end up with is a bland, gray circle. Too much unity or too much variety isn’t nearly as cool. Which is why all the best musicians keep listeners engaged with a good dose of structure and balance.

Anyway … so, now that we’ve been trained in some ancient Chinese philosophy(!), let’s move on, shall we? I mean, it’s good to know how music is structured and all. But it gets even better when we add some style to our songs….