Ray Harmony's Blog, page 19

Odd Time Signatures That Don’t Sound Odd

4/4 is the most overused time signature, ever! So if you want your music to stand out, the easiest way to do that is to use odd time signatures. Wait, but don’t odd time signatures sound odd? Not if you use the hack in this video. But first… tea!

Hello revolutionaries, we are Kate Harmony and Ray Harmony (AKA Revolution Harmony), and welcome to Hack Music Theory. We help you make great music that stands out, so you can get discovered! If that sounds useful to you, then subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit that bell to get notified every Saturday, when we publish our new video. Alright, it’s time to open your DAW to hack music theory.

So, Spotify just announced their most-streamed songs of 2018, but we all know, the most popular songs are never the best songs! Smash hits are products designed and manufactured for mass appeal, while great songs are works of art courageously and creatively composed for music’s sake.

To balance out all the boring year-end lists of smash hits, we’re starting a new Hack Music Theory tradition: the most artistic music of the year!

And we made our list by asking ourselves this question: What releases this year contained the most interesting theory used in the most creative way, resulting in accessible works of art? And it is vital that the songs are accessible, cos it’s actually super easy to write complex music, but it’s super difficult to write complex music that makes people dance and sing along! Also, our choices are obviously only from music we’ve heard, and as there’s about 20,000 songs being released on Spotify every day, it’s humanly impossible to listen to everything, but we did our best! So in this video and next week’s video, we’ll be covering our top two releases of 2018, and a game-changing theory hack from each release.

And before we jump in, we’ve got more exciting news for you: We’re feeling festive, so one of you will win our pioneering online Apprenticeship course (worth $150). Details on how to enter are in the video.

THEORY
Right, without further ado, the first artist on our very short list, is: GOOD TIGER. In Good Tiger’s album “We Will All Be Gone”, they masterfully balance complex composition and technical musicianship, with accessible songwriting and the most beautiful melodies. Yeah, they truly are a great band! So this week when we got the Spotify Wrapped email that sums up your year’s listening, we were not at all surprised to discover that we’ve spent 43 hours listening to this album! For this video, we’ll focus on their song “The Devil Thinks I’m Sinking”. After the most epic (and catchy) chorus in 4/4, the song veers into an unaccompanied guitar riff in the odd time signature of 7/16. However, its oddness is cleverly disguised by the guitar’s 1/16 note arpeggios, making the riff sound like a refreshing rainfall of notes. The drummer then brings back his snare, but it’s on a regular backbeat, making the riff sound like it’s now in 7/8, and also making the section feel like it’s now in a kinda rushed 4/4 (as the last 1/8 note in every bar is cut off). And with that, Good Tiger has made a very odd time signature sound very accessible.

Set-Up
Alright, now you’re gonna learn how to use this theory to make your own version, and what you see on the screen right now is our version that we made earlier. And by the way, these dark notes below are the root notes of the chords in our progression - these notes are all muted, they’re just there for reference. So, start by setting up four bars of 7/16, with your grid set to 1/16 notes, and your tempo set to 95 BPM. In the original song, this section is in the key of E minor, so we’ll use it too.

Step 1 - Arpeggios
First things first, you need a chord progression, so choose four chords from the key of E minor. We went with Em, Dmaj, Cmaj, and Bmaj. And please note that at the end, we switched into E harmonic minor, which turned the Bm chord into a Bmaj. Now, play each chord for one bar of 7/16. Then, break up each chord into 1/16 note arpeggios. And be sure to play some non-harmonic notes as well, which are notes that are not in the chord (but still in the key), like this 2 over our Em chord. And by the way, if you need help with the basics, or if you just wanna brush up on your scales and chords, then download our free music theory book below.

Step 2 - Grouping
Next, decide how you wanna group your 7/16. Good Tiger went with a 4 + 3 grouping, so we used it too. And to make your grouping stand out in this rainfall of 1/16 notes, accent the first note in each group, by turning its velocity up.

Step 3 - Backbeat
Lastly, when you add your drums, remember to play them in 7/8 with a regular backbeat snare in most bars. And a regular backbeat snare in 7/8 is on the third and seventh 1/8 notes in the bar. This makes everything feel like it’s in that kinda rushed 4/4 vibe that we spoke about earlier.

NEXT
Right, now that you’ve got one section down, how do you write more sections for it, and then, how do you transition between those sections, and turn 'em into a song? Great questions, and if this is something you need help with, then check out our cutting-edge online apprenticeship course, where you’ll literally learn every step of the music making process, and most importantly, you’ll learn how to finish your songs! You’ll also gain access to our Private Network, which is a safe online space (i.e. social media platform) exclusively for our 500+ apprentices from 50+ countries. Our Network is a super supportive place for you to ask theory questions, share your music, get feedback, meet like-minded music makers, and collaborate! If all this sounds useful to you, then head on over to our Online Apprenticeship page now.

Kate & Ray Harmony (AKA Revolution Harmony)
Music Teachers & Producers in Vancouver BC, Canada

LEARN
Level 1: Read our free book (below) & watch our YouTube videos
Level 2: Read our "Part 1" book & "Songwriting & Producing" PDF
Level 3: Learn our secret art of songwhispering & finish your music

ABOUT
Hack Music Theory is the pioneering notation-free method for making great music that stands out, so you can get discovered! Taught by award-winning music lecturer Ray Harmony, and his protégé (and wife) Kate Harmony, from their studio in Vancouver BC, Canada. Ray is the author of critically-acclaimed book series "Hack Music Theory", and has 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 many more! Kate has the highest grade distinction in Popular Music Theory from the London College of Music, and is the only person on the planet who's been trained by Ray to teach his method. On that note, the "Hack Music Theory" YouTube channel teaches relevant and instantly-usable music theory for producers, DAW users, and all other music makers (songwriters, singers, guitarists, bassists, drummers, etc.) in all genres, from EDM to R&B, pop to hip-hop, reggae to rock, electronic to metal (and yes, we djefinitely djent!).

COPYRIGHT
© 2018 Revolution Harmony
Revolution Harmony is Ray Harmony & Kate Harmony
All content (script & music) in video by Revolution Harmony

Wooohooo!!! You’re a mere 30 minutes away from being even smarter than you already are. Just head on over to your inbox now for your free download.

There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again.

“The most brilliant, fast, easy & fun music theory book I’ve ever seen!” DEREK SIVERS, CD Baby founder

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Published on December 09, 2018 14:29

Most Producers Make This Mistake...

When we trawl through the new releases every Friday, it’s always shocking to hear that almost all producers make the same mistake with their drums. So this video is designed to put an end to that, once and for all. But first…

A quick announcement. A huge Thank You to everyone for slamming our website during our sale last weekend. This actually broke our online store, but it’s all fixed and upgraded now, and to apologise for the inconvenience, we’ve extended our sale till the end of this weekend. So if you want 40% off everything on our website, then head on over to Online Course and Books + PDFs. But first… tea!

Hello revolutionaries, we are Kate Harmony and Ray Harmony (AKA Revolution Harmony), and welcome to Hack Music Theory. We help you make great music that stands out, so you can get discovered! If that sounds useful to you, then subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit that bell to get notified every Saturday, when we publish our new video. Alright, it’s time to open your DAW to hack music theory.

THEORY
In Tatran’s new album “Foresee” that just dropped yesterday, Dan Mayo (who’s one of our favourite drummers!) brings the groove BIG time, reminding us that humans do it best! Now, while it’s impossible to replace a great drummer with a computer, it is possible to learn their hacks and use them in our MIDI drums. And that brings us to the No.1 mistake almost all producers make with their drums: They learn how to program them from other producers (and their MIDI drums), instead of learning from the only true source, real live drummers. So if you wanna program better drums, learn from great drummers! How? We’ll reveal that next...

Set-Up
We’re using Tatran’s new track “Arba” as the inspiration for this video, and what you see on the screen right now is a summarised version of Dan’s opening drum groove. So, start by setting up two bars of 4/4, with your grid set to 1/16 notes, and your tempo set to 86 BPM.

Step 1 - What to Play
Now, there’s a lot we can learn from a great drummer like Dan Mayo, so for this video, let’s just focus on one thing: Depth. So, Dan is playing a regular backbeat snare on beat 2 and beat 4. And that is actually about as deep as many producers would go with their snare pattern, but Dan adds another layer to his groove by playing three more snare accents in each bar. Then he adds a third layer to his snares, by playing ghost notes. Ghost notes are super soft snare hits, which add depth and texture to a groove. And finally, he plays a tom on beat 4 of each bar, which boosts the snare on that beat, making it sound bigger than the snare on beat 2. And with that, Dan has created four layers on his snare drum alone. That’s a lot of depth!

Step 2 - How to Play
Right, now that you’ve programmed what you wanna play, it’s time to program how you wanna play it. This involves changing each note’s velocity (which is how hard it’s hit), as that creates even more depth. Also, depending on what genre you’re working in, you could move the notes slightly off the grid for a more human feel. If you want an urgent feel, then move them a fraction before the beat. And if you want a chill vibe, move them a fraction after the beat (like we did with ours). Now, back to velocity. As an example of this, when a drummer plays two 1/16 note kicks in a row, their foot can’t kick the second note as hard as the first note*, so pull the velocity down on that second note. And another cool velocity hack is to change every single note individually, as that way each note has a slightly different velocity, which is how a drummer would play it.

*Good drummers can do this, but it’s way more difficult!

Step 3 - Watch & Learn
Conveniently, Dan Mayo actually has a YouTube channel, so head on over there to watch and learn! And if you wanna check out another one of our favourite drummers, watch Adam Deitch, who’s the drummer in Lettuce and Break Science. We’ll link to both of these drummers in the description below, so go and watch them play. And once you’ve found a couple favourite videos, slow them down, and program the MIDI for what they’re playing. Then, use those drum hacks creatively in your own music. Doing this will make your drums better than 99% of other producers’ beats. Guaranteed!

DRUMMERS
►Dan Mayo - Tatran
►Adam Deitch - Lettuce, Break Science

NEXT
Right, now that you’ve got one section down, how do you write more sections for it, and then, how do you transition between those sections, and turn 'em into a song? Great questions, and if this is something you need help with, then check out our cutting-edge online apprenticeship course, where you’ll literally learn every step of the music making process, and most importantly, you’ll learn how to finish your songs! You’ll also gain access to our Private Network, which is a safe online space (i.e. social media platform) exclusively for our 500+ apprentices from 50+ countries. Our Network is a super supportive place for you to ask theory questions, share your music, get feedback, meet like-minded music makers, and collaborate! If all this sounds useful to you, then head on over to our Online Apprenticeship page now.

Kate & Ray Harmony (AKA Revolution Harmony)
Music Teachers & Producers in Vancouver BC, Canada

LEARN
Level 1: Read our free book (below) & watch our YouTube videos
Level 2: Read our "Part 1" book & "Songwriting & Producing" PDF
Level 3: Learn our secret art of songwhispering & finish your music

ABOUT
Hack Music Theory is the pioneering notation-free method for making great music that stands out, so you can get discovered! Taught by award-winning music lecturer Ray Harmony, and his protégé (and wife) Kate Harmony, from their studio in Vancouver BC, Canada. Ray is the author of critically-acclaimed book series "Hack Music Theory", and has 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 many more! Kate has the highest grade distinction in Popular Music Theory from the London College of Music, and is the only person on the planet who's been trained by Ray to teach his method. On that note, the "Hack Music Theory" YouTube channel teaches relevant and instantly-usable music theory for producers, DAW users, and all other music makers (songwriters, singers, guitarists, bassists, drummers, etc.) in all genres, from EDM to R&B, pop to hip-hop, reggae to rock, electronic to metal (and yes, we djefinitely djent!).

COPYRIGHT
© 2018 Revolution Harmony
Revolution Harmony is Ray Harmony & Kate Harmony
All content (script & music) in video by Revolution Harmony

Wooohooo!!! You’re a mere 30 minutes away from being even smarter than you already are. Just head on over to your inbox now for your free download.

There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again.

“The most brilliant, fast, easy & fun music theory book I’ve ever seen!” DEREK SIVERS, CD Baby founder

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DOWNLOAD FREE BOOK

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margin-right: 5px;
}

/* Form fields */

.ck_errorArea {
display: none;
}

#ck_success_msg {
padding: 10px 10px 0px;
border: solid 1px #ddd;
background: #eee;
}

.ck_label {
font-size: 14px;
font-weight: bold;
}

.ck_form input[type="text"] {
font-size: 16px;
text-align: center;
margin-top: 20px;
margin-bottom: 0px;
padding: 8px 8px;
width: 100%;
border: 1px solid #d6d6d6; /* stroke */
-moz-border-radius: 4px;
-webkit-border-radius: 4px;
border-radius: 30px; /* border radius */
background-color: #fff; /* layer fill content */
height: auto;
}

.ck_form input[type="email"] {
font-size: 16px;
text-align: center;
margin-top: 0px;
margin-bottom: 15px;
padding: 8px 8px;
width: 100%;
border: 1px solid #d6d6d6; /* stroke */
-moz-border-radius: 4px;
-webkit-border-radius: 4px;
border-radius: 30px; /* border radius */
background-color: #fff; /* layer fill content */
height: auto;
}

.ck_form input[type="text"]:focus, .ck_form input[type="email"]:focus {
outline: none;
border-color: #aaa;
}

.ck_checkbox {
padding: 10px 0px 10px 20px;
display: block;
clear: both;
}

.ck_checkbox input.optIn {
margin-left: -20px;
margin-top: 0;
}
.ck_form .ck_opt_in_prompt {
margin-left: 4px;
}
.ck_form .ck_opt_in_prompt p {
display: inline;
}

.ck_form .ck_subscribe_button {
width: 100%;
color: #fff;
margin: 0px 0px 0px;
padding: 8px 8px;
font-size: 18px;
background: #d74128;
-moz-border-radius: 4px;
-webkit-border-radius: 4px;
border-radius: 30px; /* border radius */
cursor: pointer;
border: none;
text-shadow: none;
}

.ck_form .ck_guarantee {
color: #626262;
font-size: 12px;
text-align: center;
padding: 5px 0px;
display: block;
}

.ck_form .ck_powered_by {
display: block;
color: #aaa;
}

.ck_form .ck_powered_by:hover {
display: block;
color: #444;
}

.ck_converted_content {
display: none;
padding: 5%;
background: #fff;
}

/* v6 */

.ck_form_v6 #ck_success_msg {
padding: 0px 10px;
}

@media all and (max-width: 403px) {
.ck_form_v6.ck_modal .ck_close_link {
top: 30px;
}
}

@media all and (min-width: 404px) and (max-width: 499px) {
.ck_form_v6.ck_modal .ck_close_link {
top: 57px;
}
}

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Published on December 01, 2018 12:17

Magic Hack for Better Bass Lines

A great bass line is not only the music’s foundation, it’s also what gets the party started! But, it takes a very repetitive rhythm to get people moving. So in this video, you’ll learn a magic hack for writing bass lines that move people, without boring them. But first…

A quick announcement. Our Black Friday sale is pumping all weekend long (23-26 November 2018), so head on over to our Online Course page and our Books + PDFs page to grab 40% off everything - yes, all our PDFs, our book “Hack Music Theory, Part 1”, and our bestseller, the online Apprenticeship course, which has been called “life-changing” numerous times! So, are you ready to take your music to new heights? Then get involved now. But first… tea!

Hello revolutionaries, we are Kate Harmony and Ray Harmony (AKA Revolution Harmony), and welcome to Hack Music Theory. We help you make great music that stands out, so you can get discovered! If that sounds useful to you, then subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit that bell to get notified every Saturday, when we publish our new video. Alright, it’s time to open your DAW to hack music theory.

THEORY
In Karma Fields’ new track “An Underground System of Forgotten Machines” that just dropped yesterday, the bass line gets your head bobbing before the end of bar one, literally. How? Well, he uses a very clever hack that allows him to deliver the maximum dose of repetition, because the variation is disguised as repetition. Wait, what? Let me explain. He uses the shortest possible rhythmic segment (two notes), which he then repeats over two bars. Next, he assigns three pitches to this rhythm. Now, here’s where the magic happens. Most other producers would simply loop this two-bar bass line and call it a day, but not Karma Fields! He loops only the rhythm, then re-assigns the same pitches, but in a different order. Boom!

Step 1 - Repetition
Set up four bars of 4/4, with your grid set to 1/16 notes, and your tempo set to 97 BPM. Karma Fields uses the notes D♯, E and F for his main bass line. So we’re gonna do something similar, but a little different: we’ll use F as our root note, and Phrygian as our mode. And on that note (or mode), if you need help understanding the modes, then check out the modes hack in our Songwriting & Producing PDF (click & scroll down), which contains all our top music making hacks as well! But if you need help with the basics first, then read our free book on scales and chords (free download below). Alright, so start by creating a short rhythmic segment, using one 1/8 note and one 1/16 note, in whichever order you want. Next, loop those two notes over bar one. You’ll be left with a 1/16 note open at the end, and that’s where you throw in a couple 1/8 notes to change things up a bit as you head into bar two. This also creates an awesome syncopation, as you don’t play the 1st beat of bar two. Then, continue looping your original two-note rhythmic segment over bar two. And once again you’ll be left with a 1/16 note open at the end, but this time, draw in a 1/16 note there. And that concludes your two-bar rhythm, so you can now loop it over bars three and four.

Step 2 - Magic
Right, now you’re gonna assign three pitches to your rhythm. Let’s use the root note (F), the ♭2 (G♭), and the ♭7 (E♭). And here’s how you’re gonna create your contour: start on the root, then go up, then go back to the root, and then go down. And to make it even more interesting, play the highest and lowest notes twice every time you get to them. So in other words, you’re gonna start with one F, then go up to two G♭s, then back down to one F, and then down to two E♭s. Keep this pattern going for the whole two-bar rhythm. And that is your first bass line. Now, here’s where the magic drops. In bars three and four, you’re gonna turn that contour upside down. So, you’re gonna start with one F, then go down to two E♭s, then back up to one F, and then up to two G♭s. Keep this pattern going for the whole two-bar rhythm. And that is your second bass line. Now, let’s keep this between the three of us, but here’s how this magic trick works. Your listeners will perceive these two bass lines as being the same, because of their shared rhythm and pitches. However, their different contours will prevent them from getting boring. Boom!

NEXT
Right, now that you’ve got one section down, how do you write more sections for it, and then, how do you transition between those sections, and turn 'em into a song? Great questions, and if this is something you need help with, then check out our cutting-edge online apprenticeship course, where you’ll literally learn every step of the music making process, and most importantly, you’ll learn how to finish your songs! You’ll also gain access to our Private Network, which is a safe online space (i.e. social media platform) exclusively for our 400+ apprentices from 40+ countries. Our Network is a super supportive place for you to ask theory questions, share your music, get feedback, meet like-minded music makers, and collaborate! If all this sounds useful to you, then head on over to our Online Apprenticeship page now.