In music, consonant and dissonant intervals are super-important. Because they tell us which notes sound good together … and which notes sound bad. Using plain, old scale degrees, we can kind of see what these intervals look like—check it out. We just rearrange the 12 basic intervals into a sort of spectrum:

The tonic (1) is at one end because it’s the most consonant scale degree in any key. At the other end of the spectrum is the tritone (b5) … because it is, by far, the most dissonant scale degree. And in between are all the other scale degrees, which range from consonant on the left … to dissonant on the right.

Cool, huh? If we want a song to sound good, we just play lots of notes and chords that are consonant. In other words, we need to stick with the scale degrees near the tonic (1) at the left of the spectrum. And if we want our music to sound more edgy and dissonant, then we pick and choose from the intervals on the right.

But, of course, all of that is easier said than done. Because each of these little symbols can be confusing. So it’s still difficult to see what I’m talking about. No matter how hard you look, these scale degree symbols don’t really illustrate why some intervals are consonant … while other intervals are dissonant. And that’s a bummer.

Ahhh … but Color Music saves the day again. By looking at these scale degrees using colors and shapes, we get a much better view of what this spectrum is trying to show us….

Relaxation CDs are interesting … because they make me so relaxed. Maybe it’s just that I need to get more sleep. But if one of those tracks starts to play on my iPod, I zone out almost immediately.

In fact, the calming music is so soothing that it’s kind of got me confused. I mean, how do the musicians in the studio record that stuff without falling asleep? It’s a mystery, I tell you. Like one of those classic “ship in a bottle” souvenirs you sometimes see in seaport village gift shops. I just don’t know how they do it.

Have you ever noticed that showers are like time machines? It’s strange … whenever you step into one, the world suddenly slows down. Is it magic, or just weird science?

If you don’t believe me, then try this little experiment:

Step 1 – Begin playing a catchy album on your stereo. It’s important that the music is good … so any Beatles record will do. Make sure one of the songs gets stuck in your head. (Humming or singing along will help.)

Step 2 – Next, walk into the bathroom where you can’t hear the music playing. Step into the shower for a few minutes and get nice and clean. (Remember to wash behind your ears and don’t forget your belly button.) Oh yeah, and check out the acoustics of the bathroom by singing the catchy song you were listening to right before you got into the shower.

Step 3 – Once your shower is complete, grab a towel and walk back into the room where the music is still playing on you’re your stereo. Did you notice anything? Yep—time definitely slowed down while you were in the bathroom. As you were humming through the previous song, the album was moving forward at a faster pace. In fact, it may have even jumped ahead by three or four songs. It’s amazing!

If you ask me, this phenomenon should by studied by the world’s top scientists. Who knows where all of this might lead? Maybe we’ll learn how to time travel through decades … or even centuries. Or maybe that just means we’d have to take some really long showers. I’m still not sure, but it’s worth a try.

In most of the music you’ll play, each chord will have only three notes. The average song includes only basic major triads and minor triads. And occasionally, you might see a few augmented triads and diminished chords. But for the most part, musicians keep it simple … and they stick with the major chords and minor chords we know and love.

But every once in a while (especially in jazz music), you might also see bigger, fancier chords. And these larger groups of notes are called “extended” chords.

Extended chords are nice because they make things more interesting. They might not be used quite as often, but they sound pretty cool. So they’re definitely good to know. We play extended chords by taking basic triads and “extending” them … that is, by adding more notes on top.

For example, do you remember how we first played the C major triad? We built that chord by hitting every other note of the C major scale. Well, if we were keep going (adding a seventh note to the group), we’d come up with what’s called the “C major seventh” chord. Get it?

(We could also build even bigger chords by adding more and more notes—like “ninth” chords … “eleventh” chords … and “thirteenth” chords. But because seventh chords sound better and are easier to play, those bigger chords are much less common.)

Anyway … by adding seventh chords to our toolbox, we suddenly have way more options. For example, check out the “C majorseventh,” “C dominant seventh,” and “C minor seventh” chords below. Like their cousins, the basic triads, these seventh chords include just a few notes … and each one is easy to play. You can tell them all apart by their different intervals and special name labels:

Just like before, musicians label each chord with special little symbols … to tell each one apart: And again, there isn’t a standard set of chord symbols in music. So you might see a few different labels from time to time. For example, check out the following chord labels. Each one is pretty common … but they all mean the same thing:

With four notes each (instead of three), these chords are a little more work for our fingers. But with some practice, that’s no problem. In fact, they’re all easy to play once you try them a few times. And because the dominant seventh chord is especially popular in music, let’s check it out in each key. That way, our fingers will get stronger … and we can take on the next few songs….

Now that we know how to illustrate time (or “duration”) in music, we can play anything we’d like. After all, music is really about two basic things:

1. Pitch (that is, the 12 notes of the chromatic scale), and
2. Duration (like whole notes, half notes, quarter notes, etc.)

All we have to do is combine these two elements of music … and we are in business. For example, check out the following melodies. And as you play each one, notice how every song is just a bunch of notes (pitches) held for different amounts of time (duration). In fact, it’s so easy that it makes me want to cry.

To keep things simple, each of these melodies comes from the same basic C major scale. And every beat follows a basic 4/4 pattern. So just like in the song “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,” every melody is just a different rearrangement of the same few notes. And each pattern forms a nice little tune.

Of course, nothing is really new here. And we’re just building on what we’ve already learned. For example, we can look at any key signature to quickly know which notes will be included in a song (right now, everything is in the key of C). And we can also look at each time signature to follow the beat (right now, everything is also in 4/4 time).

Just to get a feel for things, it might help to tap or clap each beat first. Then, after you have a sense of when to hit each note, try playing the melodies with your fingers. As you begin to play, you’ll definitely recognize each melody because they’re all really well-known.

Also, don’t worry if you make a few mistakes. Everybody does when they start a new song. Just go back to the part that gives you trouble and play through the notes again. It might take a couple of tries to get things sounding right. But that’s okay … because all great musicians need practice. As they say, “the more you play, the better you’ll get.” And now that we see exactly what we’re doing, we have a huge advantage in music. Ahhh … life really is good.

As an art form, music is pretty unique. It’s unlike painting, sculpture, architecture, glasswork—and a bunch of other kinds of art—for one big reason. It takes time to unfold and make sense. Unlike other art forms, music must have time to work its way from beginning to end.

To put it another way, it’s easy to experience something like the Mona Lisa or Michelangelo’s David in an instant. The moment we see this kind of art, our brains understand it.

But with music, a song needs time to expand and move forward. It’s kind of cool that way. Music is time … and time is music. So if time stood still, the world would be silent.

Because music is all about time, we obviously need a way to illustrate it in music notation. And just as you might expect, musicians have already come up with a clever way of doing just that. Using “duration” symbols, we can show—in detail—exactly how a song should sound.

With Color Music, it’s easy to play any new song. But … at the same time, it actually shows us how music works. So we also know why we’re playing each note. Which means we get the best of both worlds. On the one hand, it “dumbs things down” so everything is now easy to play. While on the other hand, it also “smarts things up” by showing us the logic or theory of a song.

This double advantage of Color Music is cool because it makes us better musicians … but it might also be confusing. Which is why I think it’s worth mentioning. If you’re new to Color Music, then you might be asking the question “How can music be easier to play … AND easier to understand? Don’t you have to sacrifice one for the other—either simplicity or knowledge?”

The answer, of course, is “No.” It turns out that we can actually learn music faster AND more completely … because we can finally see sound. Just because Color Music is easy doesn’t mean it’s a mindless shortcut. And just because it’s complete doesn’t mean it’s complex. Now that we can simply look at each note, any song is easier to both play and understand.

Like anything else we learn, music is easier to understand once we see what we’re doing. And since we’ve taken off our blindfolds, it’s smooth sailing from here. So yes, Color Music is both simple AND complete. Which is how things should be, right?

Okay, so I’ve sort of criticized Guitar Hero a couple of times already. And I’ve run the risk of sounding like a musical snob. But the truth is, that game is on to something. I mean, what’s easier than following a bunch of colored shapes to make music?

In the end, the “musicians” who play this game cheat … since it’s really just glorified air guitar. But Guitar Hero actually does a pretty good job of illustrating “musical patterns.” Which, of course, is what Color Music is all about. (Only, Color Music reallyshows us what sound looks like.)

I’ve been thinking about Guitar Hero a lot lately because I’ve got this song stuck in my head. You’ve probably heard it before … it’s the “Inspector Gadget” theme. To be honest, it’s a painfully catchy tune. But after five days of it rolling around in my head, I’m going crazy. (!)

Anyway, the song was written by Mr. Shuki Levy … who is an inspired songwriter. He’s the guy who came up with some of the most memorable TV show theme songs from the 1980s and 1990s. Some of his highlights include songs from:

• Inspector Gadget
• He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
• Power Rangers
• X-Men
• Etc.

Of course, this might not be the most glamorous set list. And I’m sure a lot of people have accused this guy of writing some flat-out cheesy stuff. But Shuki can’t be complaining. In fact, he’s probably crying all the way to the bank. After all, he’s made some good money writing melodies.

So anyway, here’s the melody that’s been haunting me for the past week. I’m not sure what all the scorecard stuff is at the end of this video. But the person who “played” this song was obviously pretty awesome.

By now, you may have noticed that I’m not making this up. The truth is that Color Music is real … which means both color and music follow the exact same patterns. Once you see this connection, you can simply follow these patterns wherever they go. So what started with a basic color wheel is now helping us crack the code to music notation. Not bad, eh? (And believe me, it only gets better from here….)

But while the science of sound is simple, the art of music is what’s still so amazing. Sure, it’s easy to pick apart the chromatic scale and to learn the language of music. But the power and movement of a song is still magical. And that’s why music has blown people’s minds for thousands of years.

Ancient civilizations even had special “gods” who ruled over music. In Greece and Rome, Apollo was the patron god of music and poetry. And he was the leader of the Muses (or the spirits who inspired the arts). Interestingly, he was also the god of light (or color).

In Egypt, Hathor served as the goddess of music. The Norse god of music was Bragi. In Mesapotamia, it was Ea. In China, it was Feitian. In the Phillipines, it was Pasipo. In India, it was Saraswati … and so on. In other words, everyone was trying to get in on that action. And for my money, these were the really cool gods—because they probably had all the fun.

But now, if you had to pick the modern gods of music, who would you choose? That is, which musicians have totally mastered the art and science of sound? Everybody has their favorites. In your opinion, who would you say creates real magic?

In music notation, all 12 notes are laid out in the chromatic scale pattern. So it’s pretty easy to pick apart. The only thing is … this pattern looks different than how we’re used to seeing it on a piano keyboard. You see, on a piano, the chromatic scale is laid out from left to right—with lower sounding notes on the left, and higher sounding notes on the right.

We already know this arrangement makes sense when you actually play the instrument … so that your left hand hits the lower notes, while your right hand hits the higher notes. But can you imagine using a keyboard to illustrate something like a melody or song? On paper, this would be hard. Because with all the different notes moving up and down at different speeds, you’d have to show not only which notes to play (pitch), but also how long to play them (duration).

So to work around this problem, musicians came up with a clever way of illustrating both pitch and duration in music notation. The idea behind it is simple. Instead of showing pitch from left to right (like on a keyboard), music notation turns everything on its head—so that low notes are at the bottom … while high notes are at the top.

In this way, duration (or time) can also be shown—moving from left to right. So together, pitch and duration form a simple cross … with pitch moving up and down, and duration moving from left to right.

Seriously … this is all music notation is: a basic keyboard pattern turned on its side. And personally, if I’d known about this when I first learned notation, life would have been so much easier! In fact, it’s so easy, it makes me want to cry. But before we go ahead and start playing melodies, let’s look a little closer at how music notation is designed … starting with the “grand staff.”