Shawn Cole

I am convinced beyond any doubt that more people would share and enjoy the wonders of music if it were communicated in a different way. Too often, especially with piano lessons, kids are taught to first read the foreign language of music notation prior to playing the instrument. This approach often leads to parents dragging their kids to music lessons. Worse yet, some kids who have a born desire to create music get discouraged because instead of learning the universal language of music they are forced to learn the foreign language of music notation.

Travel to any city known for its music. Watch and listen to the musicians, and you will likely see that there is no sheet music in front of them. Most musicians play by ear. I was brought up between the cities of Chicago and Nashville. My friends and I would go to Chicago and Indianapolis and watch the musicians through the windows. We learned that the blues artists we loved didn’t know how to read music. Instead, they used numbers to communicate. Many of the musicians I met in Nashville used the same numbered system to communicate. The amazing part: There are only seven numbers! There are benefits to reading and writing musical notation, but learning to read and write prior to speaking such a universal language is unnecessary and quite difficult.

Look at it this way. As a child you learned to speak. You heard sounds and you emulated those sounds. Perhaps you watched people’s lips, and tried to move yours in a similar way. You were able to speak for years before you even tried to write.

Much of the world’s music is structurally simple. Quite often songs contain only two – five chords. Learning chords is simple. Most people can learn to play five chords within an hour. Eventually you realize that certain chords are related. Those related chords usually appear in songs together. For example there are thousands of songs that use these four chords: (G), (D), (C) and (E minor).

Eventually a person’s ear gets trained to the sound of the chords. Individuals who learn chord theory are usually able to learn songs by ear. Another benefit of chord theory is that the music remains to be a very communicable language. Musicians who have never met can gather and play together with ease.

My passion with music now includes a strong desire to teach. I currently teach from my home in rural southeastern Nebraska. New students are welcome. Feel free to contact me.

Shawn Cole