Hack Music Theory

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.”
 
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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.
 
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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?
 
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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 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. 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.
 
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.

 

 

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!

 

 
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".

 

 

 

 

Podcast.

Listen below, or on any podcast app.

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%.
 
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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.
 
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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 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. 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.
 
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.

 

 

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!

 
 
Photo by itschansy
 

 

 

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.

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.
 
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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!
 
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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.
 
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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 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.
 
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.

 

 

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!

 
 
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio
 

 

 

 

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.

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?
 
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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 :)
 
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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.
 
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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 positivity.
 
On that note, if you need some help writing 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 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. 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 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.
 
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.

 

 

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!

 
 
Photo by Pixabay
 
 

 

 

 

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.

Musical Memoirs & Sonic Scrapbooks.

How to find purpose, passion, and meaning in your life.
 
 
Okay so what’s a musical memoir? Well, the Oxford Dictionary defines a memoir as “an account written by somebody about their life and experiences”. So a musical memoir is a musical account written by somebody about their life and experiences.
 
This is an idea that’s been on my mind for a while, so I’d like to share it with you in this essay with the hope that you may find it inspiring. It’s a totally different way of approaching music, which we desperately need in this new AI age.
 
Depending on the person, music is usually considered to be in one of the following six categories. And obviously this list is not exhaustive, but these are the most common ways of approaching music:
 
Artistic, where the focus is on creativity and originality. Entertainment, where the focus is on performance and enjoyment. Social, where the focus is on community cohesion and bonding. Spiritual, where the focus is on connecting with the divine and worshipping. Soundtrack, where the focus is on enhancing and/or manipulating emotions. And for some, business, where the focus is on profit and revenue growth. So those are the conventional categories: artistic, entertainment, social, spiritual, soundtrack, and business.
 
But as AI-generated music steals more and more work from all of these categories, we’re facing a meaning crisis as musicians. When the world doesn’t want our gifts any more, what do we do? And where do we find meaning and purpose in our lives now?
 
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That’s where my “musical memoir” idea comes in. I suggest we start approaching music in the same way that we approach photos. Most people have a smart phone in their pocket nowadays, so they tend to document their daily lives through pictures. Like a photographic memoir.
 
These captured memories then get uploaded to an online gallery, which is the modern equivalent of those dusty old-school photo albums that used to fill our shelves. On a side note. Don’t you think it’s weird that so many people share their online galleries with the public? Any stranger can look at them. How creepy is that?!
 
Back in the day, photo albums were private. Only family members got to look at them, and even that was embarrassing. I don’t remember ever letting any of my friends open my photo albums. No way! They were strictly family-only. What does it say about our modern culture that people are so willing to share their photos with strangers? Interesting times. But I digress.
 
So I’m sure you can see where I’m going with this. I’m proposing that we start capturing our memories in sound as well, by making autobiographical music. In other words, music as a memoir. And in between creating our musical memoir, we can constantly be working on our sonic scrapbooks. A sonic scrapbook is where we can keep all our musical ideas, which may or may not be turned into songs later.
 
There’s no need to turn every idea into a song. Sometimes ideas are perfectly happy exactly the way they are. If you write a beautiful melody or chord progression or whatever, and you never feel the desire to turn it into anything more, then it’s complete. It has served its purpose. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. When Picasso did a pencil sketch and left it at that, it was complete. If he’d wanted to turn it into a painting, he would have. That’s what our sonic scrapbooks should be: A place where all our ideas are collected. They form a vital part of our musical journey, even if they don’t make it into the final narrative.
 
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The reason I feel so excited about this new approach to music, is that the work and its meaning can’t be stolen by AI. Remember, a memoir is “an account written by somebody about their life and experiences”. Let that sink in. AI will never be able to do that. Because, a memoir must be written by the person it’s about, as it’s an account of their life and experiences. AI will never know what it’s like to be you. Therefore, AI can never steal this work and its meaning from you.
 
So if you’re like me, and AI has stolen over 80% of your work and over 80% of your income (and yes, that’s true), then I offer you this idea as a way to rebuild your musical life from the devastation of this global AI flood.
 
Then at the end of your life you’ll have a one-of-a-kind musical memoir to show for your time here. How meaningful is that? Now that’s what I call a life well lived!
 
On that note, if you’re feeling inspired to begin your musical memoir and sonic scrapbook, I invite you to join my online apprenticeship course. Through a series of in-depth videos, you’ll learn my Song-Whispering method. It’s an intuitive way of writing, where you let the music guide you from blank screen to finished song.
 
If you’re new to music, though, no problem. You can start your journey right now by reading my free book 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 my 30 free PDF tutorials. They’re step-by-step musical “recipes” that you can follow to instantly make music. All genres are covered, from electronic to hip-hop, classical to metal, and everything in between!
 
And 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.
 
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 :)
 

 

 

 

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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!

 
 
Photo by Pixabay
 
 

 

 

 

Outro music by Ray Harmony, based on the music theory from GoGo Penguin "Everything Is Going to Be OK".

 

 

 

 

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