So, recently, I’ve been dreaming about being a kid again. Starting from scratch and learning music the right way—with Color Music. And based on the number of readers we have out there (!), it looks like a lot of you feel the same way. It’s like our own music revolution. Out with the old and in

When musicians write a song, they have to ask themselves a few questions. For example, does our song have a main melody? And if so, where do we repeat it? How many times? Do we need to add a second, contrasting melody, like a chorus? What about some buffer or break between the two melodies?

I have to admit, I’m jazzed about Color Music. And why not? It shows us exactly how to play any instrument. When we combine color and music, they paint a very clear picture. (In fact, it’s almost spooky.) With Color Music, we cut to the chase. No headaches—just fun. Finally, learning to make music is pure

By dividing a melody into sections, we can rearrange and repeat certain parts to create something new and exciting. Of course, not all songs include every type of section. But the following outlines the most popular ones you’ll often hear: Like the rooms in a building or the acts in a play, each section is a small,

So far, we’ve been building our songs using simple layers. Starting with a melody and a few chords, we’ve played some pretty awesome tunes. And by repeating certain parts, we’ve expanded our music into larger and more interesting compositions. But before you start repeating any old random notes, remember this: the melody is still the most important

Without a doubt, repetition is important. It’s a natural way to take a short musical idea and turn it into something bigger and bolder. Which is why musicians use repeat symbols a lot. In fact, beyond the simple repeat sign, you’ll also sometimes see other markers that have their own special meanings. The three most popular

!!!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

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

In our last song, “Pachelbel’s Canon,” we added even more chords to a progression to create some very cool sounds. By rearranging the major scale pattern, we ended up with something beautiful. And it’s a simple trick, really. All we did was take a few major and minor chords, switch them around a bit, and

Now that we’ve played through a few chord progressions, we’re definitely getting better. Our brains are bigger and our hands have gotten a lot of target practice moving back and forth between chords. But after a while, life would get pretty boring with only three primary chords, right? So to keep things interesting, musicians often