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Hack Music Theory

Hack Music Theory

By: Ray Harmony
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 Welcome to the unorthodoX thoughts of multi award-winning music lecturer Ray Harmony (older episodes were co-hosted by Kate Harmony, his wife and protégé). 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). This space is like a songwriters' ark, where all the music making skills are being preserved through this global AI flood. The flood shall pass. The skills will last. Join over 250,000 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 @ HackMusicTheory.com© 2026 Revolution Harmony Music
Episodes
  • We Are the Orchid Children.

    We Are the Orchid Children.
    Feb 21 2026
    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. 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. 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. 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 ...
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    7 mins
  • The Music Theory of Fun.

    The Music Theory of Fun.
    Feb 6 2026
    The Music Theory of Fun. These two things make songs feel good… In my previous essay 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. 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 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. 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. 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 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 ...
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    7 mins
  • Who Killed the Fun, Fun, Fun?

    Who Killed the Fun, Fun, Fun?
    Jan 24 2026
    Who Killed the Fun, Fun, Fun? Music used to be our greatest joy, then this happened… 1964. Fun, Fun, Fun. That was a song on the album “Shut Down, Volume 2” by my childhood heroes, The Beach Boys. Go have a quick listen, the song is only two minutes long. But they’re two minutes of pure joy! “Fun, Fun, Fun” was released 62 years ago. So now I’d like you to compare it to any new single from 2026 in the New Music Friday playlist. What do you notice? Yep! Somewhere between the mid-1960s and the mid-2020s it seems we lost all the fun. In six decades we’ve gone from musicians playing real instruments while their fans dance together, to AI-generated songs that are consumed alone via earphones. Wow! It’s no wonder so many people are depressed nowadays. This is the story of who killed the fun, fun, fun in music. And more importantly… Why? Subscribe to get the latest posts in your inbox. The first thing we need to understand is that music is only one piece of the puzzle. Take a quick look at the new releases on Netflix, and compare those to the movies from the mid ‘60s. Then take a quick look at the new books on Amazon, and compare those to the ones from the mid ‘60s. It won’t take long to see the pattern. The majority of media being pumped out to the masses nowadays is designed to cause fear. Whether it’s nonfiction books about climate change, fiction books about the end of the world (and to be honest, it’s almost impossible to tell those two apart), or whether it’s movies about pandemics, TV shows about serial killers, YouTube videos about alien invasions, or Substack essays on global financial collapse. It’s obvious to anyone with eyes to see that the Fun, Fun, Fun has been thoroughly replaced with Fear, Fear, Fear. Welcome to the future. And yes, there have always been fear narratives in human civilizations. It’s how emperors control the masses. But, what’s vastly different now is the ubiquity of media. In the past, if an emperor wanted to pump out a new fear narrative to the people, it took years to circulate. And even then, vast areas of the empire were utterly oblivious to what they were supposed to be scared of. Nowadays, though, thanks to social media. When the emperor decides to circulate a new fear narrative, within hours it’s implanted into the consciousness of the masses all around the world. If it’s an extremely scary narrative, it can be global within minutes. These are the conditions we’re living in today. Once again, it’s hardly surprising that the majority of people are suffering from mental and physical health problems. So what’s the solution? You guessed it! Fun, fun, fun :) Subscribe to get the latest posts in your inbox. Sadly, though, with the fear propaganda constantly attacking us from every angle, it’s become extremely difficult to have fun. And for the record, when I say fun, I mean healthy enjoyment, not self-medicating. If you’re also a highly sensitive person (HSP) like me, then you’ll feel everyone else’s emotions as if they’re your own. So even if you’re staying offline and away from screens, you still absorb that fearful energy from other people. Therefore, the first step in this process is to snap ourselves out of the fear trance. And the best way to do that is to laugh. Whatever it takes to make you laugh. Do it every day, as a matter of utmost importance. For me, a short YouTube video of dogs eating peanut butter does the trick. Even just thinking about them makes me smile. And now that we’ve broken the spell of fear, the next step is to create something from this place of light-hearted energy. Being a music teacher, obviously I’d love it if you felt inspired to make music, but that doesn’t matter. What matters is that you bring something joyful into the world. A song, a drawing, a dance, a flower arrangement, a story, a joke, a cake, whatever you feel like creating in the moment. As long as you’re having fun making it. That’s the sole purpose! Enjoy every moment of the process. You’re creating something that wasn’t there before. It’s magic. How cool is that?! Then when you’re done. Share it. If you can, share it with someone in person. If not, that’s okay, share it online. But if you do that, be prepared for some trolling, as the internet doesn’t much appreciate cheerful things. This is how change happens, though. Because fun, like fear, is contagious. The more fun we share, the more positive the world becomes (including us). And the change will be exponential. We know that’s true, because it’s exactly how fear was spread over the last few years. Subscribe to get the latest posts in your inbox. If you’re still reading this, you obviously care deeply about the world. We need you. We need your fun creations. So please make something light-hearted this week, and share it with as many as possible. And please share it here in the comments too, so we can all enjoy your ...
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    8 mins
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