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Ray Harmony

Ray Harmony

By: Hack Music Theory
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The unorthodoX thoughts of multi award-winning music lecturer Ray Harmony. Older episodes were co-hosted by his wife and protégé Kate Harmony. As a songwriter and producer, Ray has made music with Grammy winners and multiplatinum artists, including Serj Tankian (System Of A Down) and Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine). Join over 255,000 YouTube 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! Download Ray's free book at HackMusicTheory.com© 2026 Revolution Harmony Music
Episodes
  • AI Hitmaker to AI Hitman.

    AI Hitmaker to AI Hitman.
    Sep 16 2026
    AI Hitmaker to AI Hitman. Wow, that escalated fast! It was only two years ago that I was sitting here at my desk watching a video on how generative-AI was now able to make music. I remember thinking: Man, that song sounds awful, and super fake too! Fast forward a couple years to now, and hardly anyone can tell the difference between human and fully AI-generated songs. In fact, it’s worse than that, because humans have a bad habit of editing and tuning their recordings until they sound 100% mechanical. So, most AI-generated songs actually sound more human than human-made music. Sad, but true. However, we can forget about AI making hit singles that everyone loves, because now the AI Hitmaker has become the AI Hitman. And it wants to kill everybody! Subscribe to get the latest posts in your inbox. Full disclosure here. I try my best to avoid the news, but Spotify keeps recommending podcast episodes about how AI wants to kill everyone, so I’m guessing that’s a thing now. If I’ve got the wrong end of the stick, great. If not, whatever. Because if there’s one lesson that the Covid era and its global fear campaign taught us, it’s that no good ever comes from making people fearful. So even if it’s true. If we are indeed on the metaphoric Titanic and it’s going down, then we might as well enjoy the music and be kind to each other. Doom-scrolling and panicking are not going to improve the situation. So if you’re sick of all the sensational headlines and fear propaganda, then come hang out here with me for some old-school human thinking and creativity. I deleted all my social media accounts 11 years ago, so if you click Subscribe below, I can guarantee you’ll be getting the most non-trending, non-sensational, non-divisive, non-AI-generated ideas on the internet. Subscribe to get the latest posts in your inbox. Also, please head on over to the website WritersAgainstAI.net and subscribe to my colleagues, too. If you’re passionate about saving human skills as the world rushes headlong into transhumanism, then join me in supporting other people who’re also keeping the art of human creativity alive. We can’t do this without you. On that note. If you’re interested in making great music, you can download my Free Book and Free PDF Tutorials. I’ve got free resources for songwriters and producers at every level, from complete beginner all the way up to advanced. Lastly, if you’d like me to keep doing this work, please consider becoming a paid subscriber on my Substack, or making a one-off contribution. And a heartfelt thank-you to all my paid subscribers. There are currently 20 of you. I know each one of you by name. I see you, and thank you for sticking with me through this difficult time. It means the world to me. If you can’t afford to become a paid subscriber or make a one-off contribution, though, no problem, you can give the podcast a 5-star rating in your app. That helps support my work, too. Thanks for being here, my friend, you are valued and appreciated. I’m Ray Harmony, and I hope you’ll join me again next time. Until then, remember to stop and smell the music. Donate. Help keep the Songwriter's Ark afloat. 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 255,000 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! Everything here is 100% Human and 0% AI. Photo by Pavel Danilyuk Outro music by Ray Harmony, based on the music theory from GoGo Penguin "Everything Is Going to Be OK". Podcast. Listen below, or on any podcast app.
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    4 mins
  • This Song Makes You Feel Good.

    This Song Makes You Feel Good.
    Aug 28 2026
    Counterclockwise Music. This Song Makes You Feel Good. When I listen to “Kokomo” by the Beach Boys, I’m instantly transported back to my childhood in the ‘80s. In fact, if I close my eyes while listening to it, I’m right there in my childhood house lying on my back with my headphones on, singing away to Mike Love and the boys. I can actually feel that old carpet under my back, and the warm African wind blowing in through my window. In my mind, I’m really there. And I’m a kid again. It’s so powerful that it feels like magic. And maybe it is. When I use “Kokomo” to time-travel back to 1989, I feel better within seconds. The darkness that surrounds me breaks up. As long as the song is playing and my eyes are closed, I don’t feel the depression. I know it’s still there, but as long as I’m back in 1989, the depression transforms from an unmovable, solidified reality, into a movable, quantum probability. And yeah, I know it’s escapism. But hey, there’s far worse ways of escaping reality than listening to a song, right? Subscribe to get the latest posts in your inbox. “Kokomo” was my favourite childhood song, so its power is second-to-none. Yet I hardly ever listen to it. Why? Well, I’m worried that if I listen to it too much, I’ll become acclimated to it. Like with coffee. If somebody doesn’t usually drink coffee, but then they have one mug of it, they’re bouncing off the walls. But if someone drinks coffee every day, it’s impossible for them to get the same boost as a non-coffee drinker. And the more coffee someone drinks, the less effective it is. That’s what I’m concerned about. The more I listen to “Kokomo”, the less effective it may become at transporting me back to 1989. So I use it sparingly. Very sparingly. I don’t have any other songs that possess that same level of magic. There are other songs that have a similar effect, but compared to “Kokomo”, they’re decaffeinated. So for now, I’d rather listen to it too little, rather than too much. Right, here’s my question to you: Do you have a song that instantly transports you back to a happy time earlier in life? And it doesn’t have to be your childhood, as a lot of people (including me) have childhood trauma. So your happy time could be when you were in your 20s or 30s, or whenever you were feeling good in the past. I’d love to know what your time-travelling song is, so please drop it in the comments. And I invite you to carve out a few minutes today to listen to it. Find a time when you can stop everything and listen with your eyes closed. And remember to put your phone in flight mode while you’re time-travelling. Nothing kills the magic like a notification. And it is magic, so I’m excited for you to feel it, too. Subscribe to get the latest posts in your inbox. This topic reminded me of the mind-bending work of psychologist Dr Ellen Langer, who conducted the famous “Counterclockwise Study” back in 1979. She got a group of elderly men to live in a house that was retrofitted to look exactly like the year 1959. There were old black-and-white TVs, radios, books, magazines, and music. All of it was at least 20 years old. And these elderly men were also asked to speak and behave as though they were 20 years younger. What happened next is shocking. Utterly shocking! After only five days of living in this house, Dr Langer measured their biomarkers. These men had literally reversed the aging process and become biologically younger. Even their eyesight improved! If you’re interested in reading more about this study, as well as Dr Langer’s other jaw-dropping research, I highly recommend her recent book The Mindful Body. So, inspired by this Counterclockwise Study, I’m now thinking of my magical time-travel song as Counterclockwise Music. And if you’re interested in making music, you can download my Free Book and Free PDF Tutorials. I’ve got resources for songwriters and producers at every level, from complete beginner all the way up to advanced. Lastly, if you’d like me to keep doing this work, please consider becoming a paid subscriber on my Substack or making a one-off contribution. And a heartfelt thank-you to all my paid subscribers. There are currently 19 of you, so I know each one of you by name. I see you, and I’m deeply grateful. Thank you! If you can’t afford to subscribe at the moment though, no problem, you can give the podcast a 5-star rating in your app. That helps support my work, too. Thanks for being here, my friend, you are very much appreciated. Ray Harmony :) Donate. Help keep the Songwriter's Ark afloat. 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), ...
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    5 mins
  • Odd Time Signatures That Aren’t Odd.

    Odd Time Signatures That Aren’t Odd.
    Aug 7 2026
    Odd Time Signatures That Aren’t Odd. Rare Rhythms That Move People. American band Death Cab for Cutie recently released their new album “I Built You a Tower”, and the song “Stone Over Water” is a brilliant example of how to make music that’s rhythmically interesting without sacrificing its ability to move people, aka its danceability. And that’s a vital element of music, not to be underestimated. Because, if people can’t tap their foot or bob their head along to your song, they’ll find it frustrating and will probably hit that Skip button. To be clear, it’s easy to make rhythmically interesting music, but the cost is usually danceability. There’s an inverse correlation between how interesting a rhythm is and how danceable it is. The more interesting the rhythm, the less danceable. A great example of this is the Swedish band Meshuggah. I’ve seen them live numerous times, and watching people trying to dance to their songs is funnier than Monty Python’s “Ministry of Silly Walks” sketch! And then on the extreme opposite side of the spectrum, you’ve got the classic four-on-the-floor dance beat, which is the easiest groove to dance to, but it’s also the most boring, by far. So how do Death Cab for Cutie achieve this blend of danceable yet interesting? Well, they use a less common time signature: 6|4. While 6|4 is (sadly) rare in popular music genres, it doesn’t sound weird at all. That’s because the most common time signature is 4|4, so 6|4 is merely 4|4 with two 1/4 notes added. Subscribe to get the latest posts in your inbox. And 6|4 is still an even time signature, so listeners can move along to it just like they can to 4|4. In fact, 6|4 feels just like 4|4 but with an extra half bar. The only people who would even notice that it’s an unusual time signature are musicians. 6|4 is arguably the most underused time signature. To understand why, we first have to talk about how popular musicians tend to informally group time signatures into two categories: 4|4 and Odd-Time. I think this is because the word “odd” can either mean odd as in numbers (like 3, 5, 7, etc.), or odd as in unusual. So despite the fact that it’s actually an even number time signature, 6|4 tends to be unofficially thrown into the odd-time category. What a rare gem! And that’s why it’s such a shame that there aren’t way more songs in 6|4. Subscribe to get the latest posts in your inbox. And on that note, please open your Digital Audio Workstation and change your time signature to 6|4. This increase in bar length will spark your creativity too, because you’ll automatically write longer melodies, chord progressions, bass lines, and drum beats. This unusual characteristic will bring out some creative ideas, and it’s also super fun to be liberated from the constraints of 4|4. Anyway, I hope that gives you some ideas and inspiration for your music making this weekend, and if you want more, then download my Free Theory Book and Free PDF Tutorials. And if you’ve got a spare 60 minutes, then I can teach you all the music making essentials in a series of short step-by-step videos. After this one-hour Songwriting & Producing “Crash” Course, you’ll know how to make good music with all the instruments working together: lead melody, counterpoint backing melody, chord progression, bass line, drum beat, and more. So if you’re super busy, then enroll right now and you can go to bed tonight knowing how to write good music. Thanks for being here, my friend, you happy music making! Ray Harmony :) Donate. Help keep the Songwriter's Ark afloat. 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 255,000 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! Everything here is 100% Human and 0% AI. Death Cab for Cutie - I Built You a Tower Outro music by Ray Harmony, based on the music theory from GoGo Penguin "Everything Is Going to Be OK". Podcast. Listen below, or on any podcast app.
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    4 mins
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