Hack Music Theory

Writers & Readers Against AI.

WRITERS & READERS AGAINST AI. If you’re pro-human, join Paul Kingsnorth’s campaign.     The brilliant English writer Paul Kingsnorth [https://paulkingsnorth.substack.com] recently launched a campaign for everyone who loves humans and human creativity. So if you also miss the good ol’ days when you could read, listen or watch something and know that a human made it, then please join this campaign. And please do it today. This is urgent!   Due to generative-AI, humanity is at a vital fork in the road. In all honesty, I think it’s probably too late to save human-made art, but if we don’t try, we’ll never know (and we'll always regret not trying, too!). And if you’re a Gen Xer like me, or a Boomer, then we seriously owe it to the kids, because we know how life-changing real music was to our childhood development.   The term “life-changing” is thrown around a lot nowadays, but music literally changed our lives when we were growing up in the ‘70s, ‘80s and early ‘90s. It’s heartbreaking to think that kids are no longer experiencing that deep and profound meaning that music gave to our lives. Those bands that we lived for (and couldn’t stop thinking about) not only made us who we are, but they helped us to cope with a screwed-up world that just keeps getting more screwed up!   This is why we owe it to the kids to try our best to wake people up to the consequences of generative-AI. And that process begins by having conversations like this with our friends and family. On that note, please share this post with any open-minded person willing to listen.   Subscribe to get the latest posts in your inbox [https://rayharmony.substack.com/subscribe].   Here’s an example of the reality we’re living in with AI. So the other day I was listening to the new album by Icelandic singer-songwriter Ásgeir. It’s breathtakingly beautiful. But while I was halfway through the title-track “Julia”, a thought popped into my head: “He could’ve used AI to write this!” I really hope he didn’t, but we’ll never know.   And that’s what most non-musicians still don’t seem to understand about generative-AI. It’s ubiquitous. It’s being used in most new songs. In fact, when asked off-the-record, a shocking number of professional songwriters and producers admit to using generative-AI when making music [https://youtu.be/xHW-k3OC5Wc?t=554]. This has been confirmed by well-connected industry insiders like journalist Kristin Robinson, who’s a Senior Correspondent for Billboard, and writes their “Machine Learnings” newsletter that covers the rapid impact of AI and other emerging tech on the music industry.   And just a quick sidenote. If you wanna learn my fast, easy and fun method for making music, then visit my website. From beginner to advanced, there’s something for you there. And most of them are free, so enjoy!   If you’re a beginner, start by reading my free book [https://rayharmony.substack.com/about] 12 Music Theory Hacks to Learn Scales & Chords. It only takes about half an hour to read, then you’ll have a solid foundation of the basics. If you’re already making music, though, you can work your way through my 30 free PDF tutorials [https://hackmusictheory.com/tutorials]. They’re step-by-step musical “recipes” that you follow to instantly make better music. All genres are there, too. Electronic to hip-hop, classical to metal, and everything in between. Have fun cookin’ up some new tunes!   Then on top of the free book, 30 free PDFs, and over 220 free YouTube tutorials, I don’t paywall any of these posts either, as I don’t want to exclude anyone. But, if you’re enjoying all my free offerings and want me to make more, please support my work by becoming a paid subscriber. It’s only about the cost of one coffee per month, but if enough people join, then I can pay the rent and keep doing this work. To sign up, please visit HackMusicTheory.com/Join [https://hackmusictheory.com/join].   If you can’t afford to at the moment, though, no problem. You can give Hack Music Theory a 5-star rating in your podcast app, that supports my work too. Either way, thank you so much, and let’s get back to the topic at hand…   Subscribe to get the latest posts in your inbox [https://rayharmony.substack.com/subscribe].   So, even old-school garage bands that record directly to vinyl could still be using generative-AI in the writing process. Most of the band members would not even know. This disturbing fact is what we need to help people understand.   You see, every time I speak out against AI, people leave comments saying that they’re not fooled by AI-generated songs and that they can tell the difference. For now, let’s forget about Deezer’s recent survey that found 97% of people can’t tell the difference between fully AI-generated songs and human-made songs [https://newsroom-deezer.com/2025/11/deezer-ipsos-survey-ai-music]. So putting that data to the side for now, here’s the bigger problem, and I’ll illustrate it with an example.   When the new Foo Fighters album “Your Favorite Toy” is released in a few weeks, how will we know that Dave Grohl didn’t use generative-AI in the writing process? We can’t. That’s the short answer. Because, he could easily have used AI secretly at home while writing the songs. The other band members wouldn’t even know.   From what I’ve read it sounds like the album was recorded in Dave’s usual old-school way, and with his preference of analogue gear. That’s all great, but the fact remains. He could have used generative-AI to help him write the songs. I really hope he didn’t, but we’ll never know. That’s the problem. That’s what we need to help non-musicians understand.   Subscribe to get the latest posts in your inbox [https://rayharmony.substack.com/subscribe].   So when people say that they can tell the difference between AI-generated songs and human-made songs, they’re just uneducated on the way that generative-AI can be used in the writing process. This is our reality. Right now. And it’s been like this for the last couple years.   To be clear. There’s literally no way that anyone can know if a new song was written by a human, by AI, or by a combination of the two.   If we want to be guaranteed that the music we’re listening to is 100% human-made, then our only option is to stick with old recordings. I recommend albums from before 1997, because that way you also avoid Auto-Tuned vocals. Yes, the transhuman music agenda has been underway for decades! If you want a short history of this, check out my previous post, titled: AI Human vs Human AI [https://hackmusictheory.com/home/blog/7728861/ai-human-vs-human-ai].   Now, back to Paul Kingsnorth’s vital new campaign: Writers Against AI [https://paulkingsnorth.substack.com/p/writers-against-ai]. The first thing to know is that it’s actually for writers and readers. So even if you’re not currently writing anything, you can join as a reader. Having said that, though, I definitely encourage you to start a daily writing practice, but that’s a topic for another post. For now, all you have to do is make three pledges and you’re in. Here they are, in Paul’s words:   “To support the campaign, a writer must make three pledges:   1. I will not use AI in my work as a writer. 2. I will not support writers who use AI in their work. 3. I will support writers, illustrators, editors and others in related fields whose work is entirely human-made.   The first of these points draws a line for our own creative work. We say, as storytellers: we will remain human. With the second, we refuse to lend our voices or our money to anyone who uses this technology to replace human creativity. Finally, we commit to doing something positive: supporting, financially and morally, other creators who are drawing the line too, and refusing to be dehumanised. If you are a writer who agrees with these pledges and who wants to sign up to this campaign - well, that agreement is all it takes.”   Subscribe to get the latest posts in your inbox [https://rayharmony.substack.com/subscribe].   So if you’re feeling inspired to get involved, head on over to WritersAgainstAI.net [https://www.writersagainstai.net] today and download the logo, then use it on your website and social media to let your audience know that your creations are 100% human-made. And if you’re a reader, you can download a “Readers Against AI” logo and post that on your social media and anywhere else that you can. Let the world know that you’re pro-human, and that you support human creativity! And please, do this today. Time is of the essence.   A heartfelt thank-you for reading/listening, and welcome aboard the Songwriter’s Ark, where all the music making skills are being preserved through this global AI flood. The flood shall pass. The skills will last.   Ray Harmony :)   ----------------------------------------   DONATE. Help keep the Songwriter's Ark afloat [https://hackmusictheory.com/join].   [https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXcfJLf-E08kl2XRn5nHpb-Nc_iPEffyLR7Yt6bV9gHxE4C8wKhFCPYgXk1ciyN7nutOdhug3obTbw9e5x2v1evIgw5nnTBgp6U9S1lQmoYZkWuM0qGo6Cj4dlGe3kU9vW_4fHP3?key=xaUIfXiL9neOSZAizVCeXA]https://hackmusictheory.com/join Photo by Mart Production     ----------------------------------------     ABOUT.   Ray Harmony is a multi award-winning music lecturer, who’s made music with Serj Tankian (System Of A Down), Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine), Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree), Devin Townsend (Strapping Young Lad), Ihsahn (Emperor), Kool Keith (Ultramagnetic MCs), Madchild (Swollen Members), and more.   Ray is also the founder of Hack Music Theory, a YouTube channel with over 10 million views and over 250,000 subscribers learning the fast, easy and fun way to make music without using AI, cos it ain’t no fun getting a robot to write “your” songs!   [//images.zoogletools.com/s:bzglfiles/u/64207/7058d824b4d920bb9dd7b9ffdebb4ee50849a59c/original/image.jpeg] Photo by cottonbro studio       Outro music by Ray Harmony, based on the music theory from GoGo Penguin "Everything Is Going to Be OK" [https://hackmusictheory.com/blogs/theory/posts/7208821/how-to-write-a-bass-line-with-harmony-music-theory-from-gogo-penguin-everything-is-going-to-be-ok].     ----------------------------------------   PODCAST. Listen below, or on any podcast app.

AI Human vs Human AI.

AI HUMAN VS HUMAN AI. A BRIEF HISTORY OF TRANSHUMAN MUSIC.     Most AI-generated songs now sound more human than most human-made songs.   How did music go so horribly wrong? It all happened so fast, too! If you’re a Gen Xer like me, you’ve witnessed this whole process unfold from start to finish in just a few decades.   As a kid I remember the first time I saw Depeche Mode performing live on some TV show. I was so confused. I heard drums, but I didn’t see a drummer!? What kind of sorcery was this? Remember, this was before the internet, so I had no way of finding out how they did that.   Then a year or so later, I saw these little black boxes in my local music instrument store. “What kind of instrument is that?” I asked the long-haired store clerk, who was rather busy air-guitaring along to some ‘80s shred album. “It’s a drum machine,” he told me. “How does it play the drums?” I asked, with even more curiosity than before. He laughed, and then explained how it doesn’t physically play drums, it’s a computer that replicates the sound of a drummer. I was shocked!   “But then bands won’t need drummers anymore?” I said, hoping that he would tell me I’d misunderstood his explanation. But no. He confirmed that the future indeed did not look good for drummers. “Are you a drummer?” he asked. “No, I play piano and guitar,” I replied. “Well you’ve got nothing to worry about then!” he assured me, trying to put my young prophetic mind at ease. But the writing was on the wall, and it was obvious to all with eyes to see.   Subscribe to get the latest posts in your inbox [https://rayharmony.substack.com/subscribe].   The release of drum machines did two things, which together formed the catalyst for the death of music. Firstly, a lot of drummers lost their gigs. You see, the fewer people in a band, the more money each member makes. And remember, for working-class musicians like us who are just trying to scrape by, that increase can be the difference between paying rent and being homeless. So I’m not judging any bands that replaced their drummers with drum machines. I know the struggle. The drummer in my band was my brother. So who knows, if it was someone else, I may have done that too.   The second consequence of replacing drummers with drum machines was that all the drummers who still had bands, like my brother, were now being compared to drum machines. No matter how tight their playing, it was never as tight as the machine. This destroyed most drummers’ confidence, and it began the false idea that having everything perfectly on the MIDI grid was the best way. This is a lie.   The feel of a great drummer is exclusively due to them not hitting everything on the grid. A well-played soul groove that’s slightly behind the beat feels a million times better than a drum machine. And a well-played punk groove that’s slightly ahead of the beat feels so intense compared to a drum machine. There’s nothing perfect about playing perfectly on the grid. It just feels dead. Like the machine. Also, the slight variations that you get from a human drummer throughout each song is priceless, and breathes life into every single bar.   Now, the next stage in the death of music occurred in 1997, with the release of Auto-Tune. This was the first time that the pitch of vocals could be corrected. It was dark sorcery, too. I remember the first time I experienced this. I had just walked into the beautiful Metropolis Studios building in London, and my engineer friend Rohan Onraet met me with an excited “Dude, you gotta see this!” as he quickly ushered me into Studio C where he was working on a mix.   He sat me down and proceeded to play a Before and After version of a vocal track. I still remember who the band was, but I won’t mention them, as the first rule of Studio Club is: You don’t talk about what happens in the studio!   The difference between his Before and After versions of the vocals was shocking. The singer was not very good, but after my friend had auto-tuned him, he sounded just as good as anyone else. I could not believe it. “That’s cheating” I protested. “Yep” he agreed. And after a dramatic pause, he added: “This changes everything.” Turns out he was far more prophetic than he realized.   Subscribe to get the latest posts in your inbox [https://rayharmony.substack.com/subscribe].   By the early 2000s, pitch correction software had been adapted to be able to tune any and all instruments, including guitar. Around the same time, rhythmic correction software was also developed. Now it was possible to record a live drummer, but then using software like Beat Detective, every hit could be perfectly aligned to the MIDI grid. This is why the drums on most recordings from 2001 onwards start sounding like drum machines, despite often being human drummers.   So 20 years ago, singers were already sounding like robots, and drummers were sounding like drum machines. And many bass guitarists had already been replaced with synthesizers by then, and the bassists that remained, were heavily edited as well. For a brief period, us guitarists were the last musicians standing.   But that didn’t last long, as not only did pitch and rhythmic correction software start making guitarists sound like robots too, but then virtual guitars started appearing. And as with all virtual instruments, they sounded terrible at first. However, it didn’t take long for them to start sounding convincingly realistic. And eventually, they would also become indistinguishable from the real thing.   And that concludes the bizarre story of how human musicians turned themselves into robots, long before AI turned up. So by the time AI-generated songs began to infiltrate the airwaves in 2022, music already sounded robotic. But now in 2026, AI is able to replicate old recordings, so it’s sounding more human than the humans.   In fact, a recent study by Deezer found that 97% of people can’t tell the difference between fully AI-generated songs and human-made songs. They also discovered that around 50,000 fully AI-generated songs are now uploaded to streaming platforms every day, accounting for 34% of all daily deliveries. That’s utterly horrifying!   In my view, there is literally only one good thing that could come from generative-AI, and it’s the fact that AI is working relentlessly to sound human. That should be a huge wake-up call for us! Think about it. If sounding like a robot was ideal, then AI wouldn’t be constantly learning how to sound more human.   Subscribe to get the latest posts in your inbox [https://rayharmony.substack.com/subscribe].   There’s hardly anything that we can do without any effort whatsoever. But sounding human is one of them. So please, embrace your human imperfections. It’s precisely those imperfections that bring your music to life and make it soulful.   So this is my invitation to start being human again. If you’re a musician, don’t edit your recordings. Those little pitch or timing issues are the magic that makes you unique. And if you’re a producer, then I encourage you to get a MIDI keyboard and start practising. Even if you can only learn to play your drum beats and bass lines on the keyboard, that will still add a significant human feel to your recordings.   On that note, if you need some help with your music, I’ve got you covered. From beginner to advanced, there’s something for you on my website. If you’re a beginner, start by reading my free book [https://rayharmony.substack.com/about] 12 Music Theory Hacks to Learn Scales & Chords. It only takes about half an hour to read, then you’ll have a solid foundation of the basics. If you’re already making music, though, you can work your way through 30 free PDF tutorials [https://hackmusictheory.com/tutorials]. They’re step-by-step musical “recipes” you follow to instantly make better music. All genres are there, too. Electronic to hip-hop, classical to metal, and everything in between. Enjoy!   On top of the free book, 30 free PDFs, and over 220 free YouTube tutorials, I don’t paywall any of these posts either. I don’t want to exclude anyone. But, if you’re enjoying all these free offerings and want me to make more, please support my work by becoming a paid subscriber. It’s only about the cost of one coffee per month, but if enough people join, then I can pay the rent and keep doing this work. To sign up, please visit HackMusicTheory.com/Join [https://hackmusictheory.com/join].   If you can’t afford to at the moment, though, no problem. You can give Hack Music Theory a 5-star rating in your podcast app, that supports my work too. Either way, thank you so much! And welcome aboard the Songwriter’s Ark, where all the music making skills are being preserved through this global AI flood. The flood shall pass. The skills will last.   Ray Harmony :)   ----------------------------------------     DONATE. Help keep the Songwriter's Ark afloat [https://hackmusictheory.com/join].     [https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXcfJLf-E08kl2XRn5nHpb-Nc_iPEffyLR7Yt6bV9gHxE4C8wKhFCPYgXk1ciyN7nutOdhug3obTbw9e5x2v1evIgw5nnTBgp6U9S1lQmoYZkWuM0qGo6Cj4dlGe3kU9vW_4fHP3?key=xaUIfXiL9neOSZAizVCeXA]https://hackmusictheory.com/join Photo by Mart Production     ----------------------------------------     ABOUT.     Ray Harmony is a multi award-winning music lecturer, who’s made music with Serj Tankian (System Of A Down), Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine), Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree), Devin Townsend (Strapping Young Lad), Ihsahn (Emperor), Kool Keith (Ultramagnetic MCs), Madchild (Swollen Members), and more.   Ray is also the founder of Hack Music Theory, a YouTube channel with over 10 million views and over 250,000 subscribers learning the fast, easy and fun way to make music without using AI, cos it ain’t no fun getting a robot to write “your” songs!     [//images.zoogletools.com/s:bzglfiles/u/64207/768a9d34e77c8e77124c0f7b025f1deddf2ae547/original/image.jpeg] Photo by Magda Ehlers         Outro music by Ray Harmony, based on the music theory from GoGo Penguin "Everything Is Going to Be OK" [https://hackmusictheory.com/blogs/theory/posts/7208821/how-to-write-a-bass-line-with-harmony-music-theory-from-gogo-penguin-everything-is-going-to-be-ok].     ----------------------------------------     PODCAST. Listen below, or on any podcast app.

Musical Heroes in the AI Age.

MUSICAL HEROES IN THE AI AGE. Nø Førmat! You need to know about this record label.     Nø Førmat! is an independent record label based in Paris. They’ve been around for over 20 years, and they’re one of my favourite labels. I love so many of their releases, but my current favourite is the album “Synthetic Hearts” by South African duo Msaki & Tubatsi. It’s a masterpiece!   I’ve got a soft spot for South African music because I was born and raised there, but they’ve got artists from all over the world on their label. I’m confident that you’ll find an artist of theirs that resonates with you. And for the record, I don’t know anyone at this label, so this is not a promo for them. I’m just a fan of theirs.   Another one of my favorites is the album “Our Calling” by the English singer-songwriter Piers Faccini and the Malian kora-player Ballake Sissoko. It’s a truly unique collaboration. The beauty is heartwarming, and the catchy melodies will have you joyfully singing along.   Do yourself a favour, and spend some time checking out the artists on this heroic record label. So why are they heroic? Because they’re one of the very few labels in the music industry who are brave enough (and awake enough) to be rejecting generative AI. Here’s a quote from a recent newsletter of theirs about this topic:   “We refuse to let what artists have spent a lifetime mastering be melted into billions of data points and regurgitated as artificial music by Udio, Suno or others. We refuse to let music, and more broadly, art, be reduced to robotic excrement, just to fatten a tech unicorn.”   Subscribe to get the latest posts in your inbox [https://rayharmony.substack.com/subscribe].   Now you can see why I love this label! And there’s more. They continue:   “This is not the world we want. Not for our children, not for all the world’s children, who dream of one day learning to play a couple of notes on a guitar. Because, how, in such a world, can we transmit the teaching, the effort, composition techniques, the love of practicing music and the social bonds it creates?”   If it sounds like they’re exaggerating, they’re not. I’ve been teaching music for 31 years, and I can confirm that interest in music education has almost entirely disappeared. The numbers don’t lie. It’s crystal clear: hardly anyone nowadays is willing to put in the work it takes to learn music.   The sales of my online courses and PDFs have fallen by over 80% since the release of generative AI to the public. And for music teachers like me, who are trying to survive on less than 20% of our previous income (which was low to start with), we’re no longer able to pay the rent. So unless people start choosing humans over robots soon, all the music making skills that have been passed on for centuries will be lost, because music teachers all over the world are having to find other work.   And with no music teachers, the tiny amount of people who still want to learn music and can concentrate long enough to do it, will have no other choice but to learn from AI. If you have kids, please think about this, because it’s happening right now. This will be your children’s reality within the next year or two, because when music teachers can make significantly more money stocking shelves in their local grocery store, what choice do we have? The rent won’t pay itself.   Subscribe to get the latest posts in your inbox [https://rayharmony.substack.com/subscribe].   Right, back to Nø Førmat!’s newsletter now. So they continue:   “We believe in the power of artists over our imagination, our way of interacting with the world, our well-being and mental health. We believe in the profound impact of their work on our lives, and we want to continue nurturing this work. We believe that creation, -and the technique inherent to it, is a human miracle that must be fiercely protected and passed on to future generations. We therefore refuse any use of our catalog to train AI.”   As with everything in the world. If there’s demand for something, people will supply it. The people and corporations who are responsible for making the AI that’s killing our art (and a lot more too) are only doing it because it’s what the masses want. If the masses didn’t want AI, these corporations would’ve already moved on to something else.   I think this is one of the (many) times where we can learn a lot from the Amish. Every new technology that comes to market is assessed by the elders in each Amish community. If they decide the technology will deepen their relationships with each other and with God, then they welcome it. If it won’t, they reject it.   This is the nuanced approach that we all need to take when it comes to new technology. Our choices matter, because whatever we want, corporations will make it and sell it to us. They don’t care if it’s bad for us, our families, our communities, and our surroundings. So please, think about AI. Deeply ponder it. Ask yourself this question: By using AI, am I creating the world I want for myself and the kids?   Subscribe to get the latest posts in your inbox [https://rayharmony.substack.com/subscribe].   Think about how much the world has already changed since ChatGPT was launched in November 2022. That was just over three years ago. Mad times! I remember listening to songs from the first wave of AI-generated music a couple years ago. They sounded super fake and robotic. But now AI songs sound more real and organic than most human-made songs. That’s because humans are using auto-tune and a bunch of other editing tools, which iron out every crease of imperfection, and therefore every trace of humanity. Meanwhile, AI-generated music is doing the exact opposite, and as a result, it’s sounding way more human.   On that note. If you’re not okay with this transhuman agenda, then head on over to www.NoFormat.net and check out the artists on this heroic record label. They need your support! And if you make music, or if you want to start making music, then check out my website afterwards. There’s tons of free resources there that were all made by a human. Me! Whether you’re beginner, intermediate, or advanced, I’ve got something for you.   If you’re a beginner, start by reading my free book [https://rayharmony.substack.com/about] 12 Music Theory Hacks to Learn Scales & Chords. It only takes about half an hour to read, then you’ll have a solid foundation of the basics. If you’re already making music, you can work your way through 30 free PDF tutorials [https://hackmusictheory.com/tutorials]. They’re step-by-step musical “recipes” you follow to instantly make better music. All genres are there, too. Electronic to hip-hop, classical to metal, and everything in between. Enjoy!   On top of the free book, 30 free PDFs, and over 220 free YouTube tutorials, I don’t paywall any of these posts either. I don’t want to exclude anyone. But, if you’re enjoying all these free offerings and want me to make more, please support my work by becoming a paid subscriber. It’s only about the cost of one coffee per month, but if enough people join, then I can pay the rent and keep doing this work. To sign up, please visit HackMusicTheory.com/Join [https://hackmusictheory.com/join].   If you can’t afford to at the moment, though, no problem. You can give Hack Music Theory a 5-star rating in your podcast app, that supports my work too. Either way, thank you so much! And welcome aboard the Songwriter’s Ark, where all the music making skills are being preserved through this global AI flood. The flood shall pass. The skills will last.   Ray Harmony :)     ----------------------------------------     DONATE. Help keep the Songwriter's Ark afloat [https://hackmusictheory.com/join].     [https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXcfJLf-E08kl2XRn5nHpb-Nc_iPEffyLR7Yt6bV9gHxE4C8wKhFCPYgXk1ciyN7nutOdhug3obTbw9e5x2v1evIgw5nnTBgp6U9S1lQmoYZkWuM0qGo6Cj4dlGe3kU9vW_4fHP3?key=xaUIfXiL9neOSZAizVCeXA]https://hackmusictheory.com/join Photo by Mart Production     ----------------------------------------     ABOUT.     Ray Harmony is a multi award-winning music lecturer, who’s made music with Serj Tankian (System Of A Down), Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine), Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree), Devin Townsend (Strapping Young Lad), Ihsahn (Emperor), Kool Keith (Ultramagnetic MCs), Madchild (Swollen Members), and more.   Ray is also the founder of Hack Music Theory, a YouTube channel with over 10 million views and over 250,000 subscribers learning the fast, easy and fun way to make music without using AI, cos it ain’t no fun getting a robot to write “your” songs!     [//images.zoogletools.com/s:bzglfiles/u/64207/bb45e00716dd9f1bcb660ce2f853fbf248d3d377/original/image.jpeg] Artwork by Jérôme Witz. Nø Førmat!’s graphic designer since 2004.       Outro music by Ray Harmony, based on the music theory from GoGo Penguin "Everything Is Going to Be OK" [https://hackmusictheory.com/blogs/theory/posts/7208821/how-to-write-a-bass-line-with-harmony-music-theory-from-gogo-penguin-everything-is-going-to-be-ok].     ----------------------------------------     PODCAST. Listen below, or on any podcast app.

We Are the Orchid Children.

WE ARE THE ORCHID CHILDREN. A CALL TO HIGHLY SENSITIVE MUSICIANS.     “Dandelion” children are those resilient and healthy kids who can survive and thrive under most circumstances. “Orchid” children, on the other hand, are those sensitive and fragile kids who need the right kind of support in order to survive and thrive.   This is according to four decades of research by the world-renowned pediatrician Dr. W. Thomas Boyce, who coined the terms “dandelion” and “orchid” in reference to how sensitive a child is.   When orchid kids don’t get the gentle childhoods they need, they go adrift. Drugs, delinquency, depression, and all kinds of other dark forces descend upon them. The silver lining of this cloud, though, is that orchid kids often turn to creativity as a way of trying to make sense of a world that seems upside-down.   That’s because the world is made by dandelions, for dandelions. If you’re a dandelion, you’re lucky, you naturally fit into society. Enjoy it! This post, however, is for the orchids. Why? Well, because I’m an orchid. And to be sure, the researchers tell us about all the advantages of being an orchid, and that we’re lucky too, just for different reasons. But, most days it really doesn’t feel like we’re lucky.   A quick sidebar. As with all categorizations, in reality this is more of a spectrum. In fact, further research identified “tulip” children. They’re the group in the middle. Not as robust as dandelions, but not as sensitive as orchids. Tulips apparently make up the largest portion of the population, at 40%. The low-sensitivity dandelions account for 30%, and us highly-sensitive orchids are the other 30%.   Subscribe to get the latest posts in your inbox [https://rayharmony.substack.com/subscribe].   This breakdown is slightly different to the research done by one of the other pioneers in this field, the psychologist Dr. Elaine Aron. Her data shows that about 20 to 30% of the population are Highly Sensitive Persons, or HSPs, a term she coined. Either way, the exact percentage doesn’t matter, what matters is that we’re not alone. About one in four or five people are also orchids, like us.   Let’s remember that next time we’re doing our grocery shopping and feeling overwhelmed by the intensity of noise, lights, smells, and most overwhelming of all, the frantic energy of other people. At that moment, look around. If you can see at least 10 people, then one of them is probably also an orchid. See if you can spot them. It’s pretty easy. They’ll be the one who looks as uncomfortable as you feel.   By the way, if you’re not sure whether you’re an orchid, you can take Dr. Aron’s online test for high sensitivity over at hsperson.com [https://hsperson.com]. And to be clear, orchids and HSPs are referring to the same group of highly sensitive people, they’re just different terms coined by different doctors.   Now, I mentioned earlier that orchids often turn to creativity as a way to cope with a world made by dandelions. This is why HSPs are over-represented in all of the arts. In fact, if you scroll through your personal music library, most of the artists in there will probably be fellow orchids. That brings me to one of the most important takeaways from the research in this field: Orchids are not failed dandelions!   Yes, the world is an overwhelming place for us orchids, but our high sensitivity is to everything. Bad stuff, yes. But good stuff, too. That’s why beautiful music can move us to mystical experiences. And fun music can lift our spirits within seconds. When we listen to music, it saturates our souls. We become the music.   Subscribe to get the latest posts in your inbox [https://rayharmony.substack.com/subscribe].   I’ve mainly been listening to soothing instrumental music lately. I discuss the reason for this in a previous post, titled This Is The Only Pure Music. One of the many reasons, though, is for music therapy. You see, mental health problems like anxiety and OCD are common in orchids. That’s because childhood traumas imprint themselves far more deeply into the unconscious patterns of orchid kids.   Many of those traumatic events occurred before we learned to talk. Therefore, we weren’t able to process them in a rational way. Instrumental music has a magical ability to reach right back into our pre-talking baby brains and sooth them. Maybe that’s the reason why God gave us music? Music heals.   So if you’re a fellow orchid kid, this is my invitation to you. Start listening to soothing instrumental music today. And listen when you’re safe and sound at home, with headphones, and your eyes closed. If you’re not sure what to choose, I recommend John Field’s Nocturnes. My favourite recording is by Elizabeth Joy Roe.   And if you’re feeling inspired to play a more active role in your healing, and you’d like to actually create your own soothing music, then I’ve got you covered. From beginner to advanced, there are tons of helpful resources for you over on my website. If you’re a beginner, start by reading my free book [https://rayharmony.substack.com/about] 12 Music Theory Hacks to Learn Scales & Chords. It only takes about half an hour to read, then you’ll have a solid foundation of the basics. Next, you can work your way through 30 free PDF tutorials [https://hackmusictheory.com/tutorials]. They’re step-by-step musical “recipes” that you can follow to instantly make music in any genre. Electronic to hip-hop, classical to metal, and everything in between. It’s all there. Enjoy!   On top of the free book, 30 free PDFs, and over 220 free YouTube tutorials, I don’t paywall any of these posts either. I don’t want to exclude anyone. But, if you’re enjoying all these free offerings and want me to make more, please support my work by becoming a paid subscriber. It’s only about the cost of one coffee per month, but if enough people join, then I can pay the rent and keep doing this work. To sign up, please visit HackMusicTheory.com/Join [https://hackmusictheory.com/join].   If you can’t afford to at the moment, though, no problem. You can give Hack Music Theory a 5-star rating in your podcast app, that supports my work too. Either way, thank you so much! And welcome aboard the Songwriter’s Ark, where all the music making skills are being preserved through this global AI flood. The flood shall pass. The skills will last.   Ray Harmony :)     ----------------------------------------     DONATE. Help keep the Songwriter's Ark afloat [https://hackmusictheory.com/join].     [https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXcfJLf-E08kl2XRn5nHpb-Nc_iPEffyLR7Yt6bV9gHxE4C8wKhFCPYgXk1ciyN7nutOdhug3obTbw9e5x2v1evIgw5nnTBgp6U9S1lQmoYZkWuM0qGo6Cj4dlGe3kU9vW_4fHP3?key=xaUIfXiL9neOSZAizVCeXA]https://hackmusictheory.com/join Photo by Mart Production     ----------------------------------------     ABOUT.     Ray Harmony is a multi award-winning music lecturer, who’s made music with Serj Tankian (System Of A Down), Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine), Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree), Devin Townsend (Strapping Young Lad), Ihsahn (Emperor), Kool Keith (Ultramagnetic MCs), Madchild (Swollen Members), and more.   Ray is also the founder of Hack Music Theory, a YouTube channel with over 10 million views and over 250,000 subscribers learning the fast, easy and fun way to make music without using AI, cos it ain’t no fun getting a robot to write “your” songs!     [//images.zoogletools.com/s:bzglfiles/u/64207/7b7830b35019ecfa4720e68648f39fb7d3023481/original/image.jpeg] Photo by itschansy       Outro music by Ray Harmony, based on the music theory from GoGo Penguin "Everything Is Going to Be OK" [https://hackmusictheory.com/blogs/theory/posts/7208821/how-to-write-a-bass-line-with-harmony-music-theory-from-gogo-penguin-everything-is-going-to-be-ok].     ----------------------------------------     PODCAST. Listen below, or on any podcast app.

The Music Theory of Fun.

THE MUSIC THEORY OF FUN. These two things make songs feel good…     In my previous essay Who Killed the Fun, Fun, Fun? [https://hackmusictheory.com/home/blog/7699258/who-killed-the-fun-fun-fun] I told the story of how music was intentionally transformed from a fun and communal activity into fear propaganda that’s consumed alone. All within a few decades. I concluded with an invitation to make something fun, and then to share it with the world. We need it!   The most revolutionary thing we can do in this age of consumption is to create. But, there’s a caveat. If our creations add to the fear and division, then the world is better off without them. That’s why it’s essential that what we make adds love and unity to society. And arguably the best way to do that is to spread light-hearted fun. Fun, and I mean healthy fun, is the antithesis of fear.   Now, when it comes to music, there’s generally two characteristics that make a song fun. These two characteristics map onto the two elements of music: pitch, and rhythm.   The first characteristic of fun music is an uplifting vibe. That’s the pitch element. The second characteristic is a dancey groove. That’s the rhythmic element. So in this essay we’ll be taking a look at what specific features make music uplifting and dancey.   Subscribe to get the latest posts in your inbox [https://rayharmony.substack.com/subscribe].   When it comes to uplifting songs, they tend to be in major keys, and inspire us to sing along. As this characteristic falls into the pitch category, what we’re talking about here in practical terms is melody and harmony. In most songs, the main melody will be the vocal line, and the harmony will be the accompanying chords, usually played on a guitar or synth. So, put simply: singing a melody in a major scale makes us feel good.    And by the way, if you’re new to music and you want to understand scales and chords, you can learn all the basics in my Free Book [https://rayharmony.substack.com/about] 12 Music Theory Hacks to Learn Scales & Chords.   Now let’s look at the second characteristic, danceability, which falls into the rhythm category. Songs with dancey grooves tend to have a backbeat snare drum on the 2 and 4, and often include a syncopated rhythm played on the kick drum and/or bass guitar. This moves us to dance along. And by the way, if you’re new to syncopation, it’s just the fancy word for accenting an off-beat. To learn about this and everything else you need to know about drums, read my Hack Drum Beats PDF.   It’s worth mentioning here that the classic four-on-the-flour kick drum pattern, which pretty much every song in the Dance genre uses, is also a great way to get people moving. However, unless a syncopated rhythm is added to it (perhaps in the bass line), it gets really boring, really quickly!   Subscribe to get the latest posts in your inbox [https://rayharmony.substack.com/subscribe].   Okay so let’s bring this music theory to life with a couple examples. For uplifting music, listen to “Don’t Worry Baby” by The Beach Boys. You’ll instantly feel that  this song is in a major key. It’s almost impossible not to sing along, and it feels so good when you do. Go on, I dare you, just surrender and sing along!   And for an example of dancey music, check out “Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved” by James Brown. It’s almost impossible not to move to that groove. And don’t resist. Resistance is futile. Let your body dance, you know you want to!   Now, while the Beach Boys song is obviously in a major key, the James Brown song is actually in a minor key, which is normally considered to sound sad. But, in the context of a super funky groove, minor keys can feel super fun, especially when they’re using the minor pentatonic scale, like in this song.   If you’re new to pentatonic scales, the minor pentatonic is simply the natural minor scale without its second and sixth notes. This scale is a funk favourite, along with its even funkier sister: the blues scale. To learn my hacks for these scales, as well as all the modes, check out my Songwriting & Producing PDF.   Subscribe to get the latest posts in your inbox [https://rayharmony.substack.com/subscribe].   This James Brown song is a great example of how fun music doesn’t need to have both characteristics. You can either use a major key to create an uplifting vibe, or you can use a backbeat snare and syncopated rhythm to create a dancey groove. However, while you don’t need to use both characteristics, please feel free to do so if you want double the fun!   Lastly, if you’re interested in reading my free book or any of the PDFs I mentioned, you can download them from my website. There’s also 30 free PDF tutorials [https://hackmusictheory.com/tutorials] over there, which are step-by-step musical “recipes” you can follow to instantly make music in any genre. Electronic to hip-hop, classical to metal, and everything in between. They also cover all the instruments, from piano to synth to vocals to bass to drums. It’s all there. Enjoy!   On top of the free book, 30 free PDFs, and over 220 free YouTube tutorials, I don’t paywall any of these essays either. I don’t want to exclude anyone. But, if you’re enjoying all these free offerings and want me to make more, please support my work by becoming a paid subscriber. It’s only about the cost of one coffee per month, but if enough people join, then I can pay the rent and keep doing this work. To sign up, please visit HackMusicTheory.com/Join [https://hackmusictheory.com/join].   If you can’t afford to at the moment, though, no problem. You can give Hack Music Theory a 5-star rating in your podcast app, that supports my work too. Either way, thank you so much! And welcome aboard the Songwriter’s Ark, where all the music making skills are being preserved through this global AI flood. The flood shall pass. The skills will last.   Ray Harmony :)     ----------------------------------------     DONATE. Help keep the Songwriter's Ark afloat [https://hackmusictheory.com/join].     [https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXcfJLf-E08kl2XRn5nHpb-Nc_iPEffyLR7Yt6bV9gHxE4C8wKhFCPYgXk1ciyN7nutOdhug3obTbw9e5x2v1evIgw5nnTBgp6U9S1lQmoYZkWuM0qGo6Cj4dlGe3kU9vW_4fHP3?key=xaUIfXiL9neOSZAizVCeXA]https://hackmusictheory.com/join Photo by Mart Production     ----------------------------------------     ABOUT.     Ray Harmony is a multi award-winning music lecturer, who’s made music with Serj Tankian (System Of A Down), Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine), Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree), Devin Townsend (Strapping Young Lad), Ihsahn (Emperor), Kool Keith (Ultramagnetic MCs), Madchild (Swollen Members), and more.   Ray is also the founder of Hack Music Theory, a YouTube channel with over 10 million views and over 250,000 subscribers learning the fast, easy and fun way to make music without using AI, cos it ain’t no fun getting a robot to write “your” songs!     [//images.zoogletools.com/s:bzglfiles/u/64207/eb277126d9c2db5ca4f9847e70d871c09162baa1/original/image.jpeg] Photo by Andrea Piacquadio         Outro music by Ray Harmony, based on the music theory from GoGo Penguin "Everything Is Going to Be OK" [https://hackmusictheory.com/blogs/theory/posts/7208821/how-to-write-a-bass-line-with-harmony-music-theory-from-gogo-penguin-everything-is-going-to-be-ok].     ----------------------------------------     PODCAST. Listen below, or on any podcast app.