Ray Harmony's Blog, page 21
August 3, 2018
How to Write a Guitar Riff like San Holo “worthy”
In this Hack Music Theory lesson, you’ll learn how to write a BIG guitar riff (even if you don’t play guitar) like San Holo in “worthy”. But first... Tea!
Hello! I’m Kate Harmony, this is Ray Harmony, and welcome to the new Hack Music Theory show, where every Friday we hack the theory of a big new release, and you learn how to use that theory creatively in your own music.
THE THEORY
String instruments (like the guitar) have the amazing ability to play the same pitch on different strings, each of which has a slightly different sound. The most common use of this technique is to play a specific pitch as an open string first, and then as a fretted note afterwards (or vice versa). Using this technique in your riffs will give them sonic depth, as the same pitch will have two slightly different sounds. And by the way, if you’re not a guitarist, a fretted note is when you press down on a string somewhere on the fretboard to play a note, and an open string is when you play a string without pressing it down anywhere. In the “worthy” drop, San Holo uses a combination of fretted notes and the two highest-pitched open strings: E and B. By playing the notes E and B as both open strings and fretted notes, he gives his riff a big wide-open resonance that simply cannot be achieved by using only fretted notes.
THE HACK
Writing a guitar riff like this is super easy, and you can literally do it in three simple steps. Step 1: Choose a scale. San Holo chose E major for his riff, so we used that for ours as well. Step 2: Create an interesting pattern between the open E string and the open B string. This is gonna form the backbone of your guitar riff. It doesn’t sound like much yet, but that’ll all change with Step 3: Connect your open string notes with fretted notes. And you’re done!
THE BONUS
And just a few other things to consider when writing a guitar riff like this. Firstly, remember that open strings keep on ringing, so extend the MIDI of each open string note right until it reaches the next open string note on that same pitch. Secondly, throw in a few rhythmic variations to keep your listeners’ attention, like we did by sprinkling a 16th note motif throughout the riff. And lastly, remember that using open strings in your guitar riffs will almost certainly result in perfect 4th and perfect 5th intervals in your melody. These intervals are rather bland, so be sure to break ‘em up to keep your riff colourful. For example, from E down to B is the melodic movement of a perfect 4th, so we broke it up by sticking a D♯ in between. And now we’ve got two interesting intervals instead of one boring interval.
THE END
Remember, we intentionally wrote our example to be very similar to the original song, but we did that for the sake of this lesson. So, instead of copying San Holo, please explore how you can use this hack creatively with your own musical personality, so it sounds like you! Also, if you wanna learn how to write great songs (and finish them!), then check out our cutting-edge online apprenticeship course, where you’ll join over 400 of our apprentices (from over 40 countries), who are all learning our secret art of song-whispering! Alright, that’s it! We really hope you found this video helpful, and if you did, subscribe and hit the bell to get notifications. Thanks for joining the Hack Music Theory revolution. We’ll see you next New Music Friday!
Kate & Ray Harmony (AKA Revolution Harmony)
Music Teachers & Producers in Vancouver BC, Canada
LEARN
1: Read our free book (below) & watch our YouTube videos
2: Read our "Part 1" book & "Songwriting & Producing" PDF
3: Learn our Secret Art of Song-Whispering, and effortlessly finish your music!
ABOUT
Hack Music Theory is the pioneering notation-free method for making great music. 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), 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 Hack Music Theory method! While these Hack Music Theory YouTube lessons teach music theory for producers and DAW users, they are designed to accommodate all music makers (songwriters, guitarists, etc.) and all genres, from Electronic Music to R&B, Pop to Hip-Hop, Reggae to Rock, EDM/Dance to Metal (and yes, we djefinitely Djent!).
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July 30, 2018
Down with the Drama
Over the last few months, you've been learning the music theory hacks we used to write our new single "Down with the Drama". Well, we're super stoked to finally reveal the finished song. Enjoy!
Hello, we are Kate Harmony & Ray Harmony (AKA Revolution Harmony), and welcome to the Hack Music Theory show, where you are empowered with notation-free theory for making great music in DAWs.
♫ Stream / Download Free MP3 of Down with the Drama ♫
CREDITS
Sarah Serene - vocals
Grey - vocals
Ray Harmony - guitar
Music by Ray Harmony
Lyrics by Ray Harmony, Kate Harmony, Sarah Serene & Grey
Produced by Ray Harmony & Kate Harmony
Mixed & mastered by Meyrick de la Fuente
LYRICS
Always hatin’
Always complainin’
Switch attitude
Get down with the beat
Not the drama
Always wanting more followers
By showing more skin
A slave to desire
Down with the Drama
Always giving respect
Loops around
We learn when we listen
Spiral to the edge
One groove
Finding peace within myself
In the days of demise
Stay far away from negative vibes
Once I took my close circle down to a fraction
And cut out all the distractions
I really started to makin’ my strides
It was time to groove different
To truly improve how I’m livin’
Had to really get in tune wit decisions
Manifest my greatness, stars aligned with the moon and da ribbons
Now it’s time for me to move in position
Life is way too short just guard dat energy baby
Keep an open eye man the closest been the enemies lately
They see your light and try to dim at it daily
And when its out they bring the Sun and the praise, the world we live in is crazy
Just try to keep it leveled to the ground
With your spirit clean, keep the devils out
Focus on your wild dreams, let ‘em level out
And if you got that peace, we can settle now
You got that drama, keep it!
PLAYLIST
Watch all the music theory video lessons in the "Down with the Drama" YouTube series
MORE
Ray RayHarmony.com
Kate KateHarmony.com
Sarah RevolutionHarmony.com/Sarah
Grey Instagram.com/OfficialGreyMusic
Kate & Ray Harmony (AKA Revolution Harmony)
Music Teachers & Producers in Vancouver BC, Canada
LEARN
1: Read our free book (below) & watch our YouTube videos
2: Read our "Part 1" book & "Songwriting & Producing" PDF
3: Learn our Secret Art of Song-Whispering & effortlessly finish music!
ABOUT
Hack Music Theory is the pioneering notation-free method for making great music. 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), 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 Hack Music Theory method! While these Hack Music Theory YouTube lessons teach music theory for producers and DAW users, they are designed to accommodate all music makers (songwriters, guitarists, etc.) and all genres, from Electronic Music to R&B, Pop to Hip-Hop, Reggae to Rock, EDM/Dance to Metal (and yes, we djefinitely Djent!).
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
We use this field to detect spam bots. If you fill this in, you will be marked as a spammer.
DOWNLOAD FREE BOOK
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July 27, 2018
How to Write an Arpeggio Chord Progression like David Guetta "Don't Leave Me Alone"
Happy New Music Friday! David Guetta’s new single “Don’t Leave Me Alone” (feat. Anne-Marie) dropped today, so in this music theory lesson, you'll learn how to write arpeggios like David Guetta. But first… Tea!
Hello! I’m Kate Harmony, this is Ray Harmony, and welcome to the new Hack Music Theory show (yeah it’s like Hack Music Theory v2.0). Every Friday, we’ll hack the theory of a big new release, and you’ll learn how to use that theory creatively in your own music. You can think of it as hot-off-the-press” music theory news, you can actually use!
And if you’re new to our channel, just a heads up, we cover all genres here, from Hip-Hop to EDM to Metal, and everything in between. But please note, this is a strictly classical and jazz free zone! Also, the hack that you’re about to witness is at an intermediate level, so this video will make more sense if you’ve got a solid theory foundation, which you can get in a mere 30 minutes, if you read our free book “12 Music Theory Hacks to Learn Scales & Chords” (free download below). Alright, it’s time to open your DAW to hack music theory.
THE THEORY
An arpeggio is created by simply playing a chord, one note at a time. This technique contrasts the usual "block chords" we hear in most songs, where the notes of each chord are played simultaneously. While block chords work great in some sections, their thick texture can be too much for other sections. “Don’t Leave Me Alone” is the perfect example of this, as David Guetta uses arpeggios for the verses, but block chords for the rest of the song. This contrast makes the verses sound super chill, and the drop sound super massive!
THE HACK
Right, to make arpeggios, you need chords first, so start by choosing a key and writing a chord progression. David chose a minor key for his chord progression, but then he starts the progression on the relative major key’s root chord. This creates an uplifting beginning to the chord progression, as it sounds like it’s in a major key, but then things start getting sad when we reach the real key’s root chord, which is minor. Let me show you what I mean. So to keep things simple, we’re in the key of A minor here. And using our white-note hack, you get A minor by playing all the white notes from A to A. Then, to find the relative major key, you simply count up to the third note of your minor scale. So, the relative major key of A minor, is C major. What that means, is that A minor and C major have the exact same notes. If that seems like sorcery to you, then you definitely need to read our free book (download below)!
So, by starting our progression on the Cmaj chord, listeners will think we’re in the key of C major, but then when we hit the Am chord, they’re gonna start getting drawn into the key of A minor, and they’re not getting out! And if you’re interested in why this is in the key of A minor, and not C major, it’s because of all the time spent on the Am chord, which anchors this progression into the key of A minor. And by the way, if you need help writing chord progressions, check out the simple step-by-step guide in our Songwriting & Producing PDF (click & scroll down).
Finally, here’s a couple other things to consider when writing arpeggios. Be sure to use different note values for variation. David actually only uses 1/8 notes in his arpeggios, so we’ve thrown in a few 1/16 notes to spice things up. Also, change some chords in your progression on unexpected beats. Every time David changes chords, it’s on beat 1 or beat 3, so we’ve added some variation by changing chords on beat 2 (here) and beat 4+.
Just a couple quick things before the final playthrough. Firstly, we intentionally wrote these arpeggios to be very similar to David Guetta’s, but we did that for the sake of this lesson. So, now that you know the theory hack, we want you to explore how you can use it creatively with your own musical personality, so it sounds like you! Secondly, if you wanna learn how to write great songs (and finish them!), then check out our cutting-edge online apprenticeship course, where you’ll join over 400 apprentices from over 40 countries, who’re all learning our secret art of song-whispering!
Alright, that’s it. We really hope you found this video helpful, and if you did, subscribe and hit the bell to get notifications. Also, what do you think of this new David Guetta single? We’d love to know, so drop us a comment on YouTube. Thanks for joining the Hack Music Theory revolution, enjoy the video/podcast, and we’ll see you next week!
Kate & Ray Harmony (AKA Revolution Harmony)
Music Teachers & Producers in Vancouver BC, Canada
LEARN
1: Read our free book (below) & watch our YouTube videos
2: Read our "Part 1" book & "Songwriting & Producing" PDF
3: Learn our Secret Art of Song-Whispering, and effortlessly finish your music!
ABOUT
Hack Music Theory is the pioneering notation-free method for making great music. 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), 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 Hack Music Theory method! While these Hack Music Theory YouTube lessons teach music theory for producers and DAW users, they are designed to accommodate all music makers (songwriters, guitarists, etc.) and all genres, from Electronic Music to R&B, Pop to Hip-Hop, Reggae to Rock, EDM/Dance to Metal (and yes, we djefinitely Djent!).
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.
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“The most brilliant, fast, easy & fun music theory book I’ve ever seen!” DEREK SIVERS, CD Baby founder
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David Guetta - Don't Leave Me Alone ft. Anne-Marie (Hack Music Theory)
Happy New Music Friday! David Guetta’s new single “Don’t Leave Me Alone” (feat. Anne-Marie) dropped today, so in this music theory lesson, you'll learn how to write arpeggios like David Guetta. But first… Tea!
Hello! I’m Kate Harmony, this is Ray Harmony, and welcome to the new Hack Music Theory show (yeah it’s like Hack Music Theory v2.0). Every Friday, we’ll hack the theory of a big new release, and you’ll learn how to use that theory creatively in your own music. You can think of it as hot-off-the-press” music theory news, you can actually use!
And if you’re new to our channel, just a heads up, we cover all genres here, from Hip-Hop to EDM to Metal, and everything in between. But please note, this is a strictly classical and jazz free zone! Also, the hack that you’re about to witness is at an intermediate level, so this video will make more sense if you’ve got a solid theory foundation, which you can get in a mere 30 minutes, if you read our free book “12 Music Theory Hacks to Learn Scales & Chords” (free download below). Alright, it’s time to open your DAW to hack music theory.
THE THEORY
An arpeggio is created by simply playing a chord, one note at a time. This technique contrasts the usual "block chords" we hear in most songs, where the notes of each chord are played simultaneously. While block chords work great in some sections, their thick texture can be too much for other sections. “Don’t Leave Me Alone” is the perfect example of this, as David Guetta uses arpeggios for the verses, but block chords for the rest of the song. This contrast makes the verses sound super chill, and the drop sound super massive!
THE HACK
Right, to make arpeggios, you need chords first, so start by choosing a key and writing a chord progression. David chose a minor key for his chord progression, but then he starts the progression on the relative major key’s root chord. This creates an uplifting beginning to the chord progression, as it sounds like it’s in a major key, but then things start getting sad when we reach the real key’s root chord, which is minor. Let me show you what I mean. So to keep things simple, we’re in the key of A minor here. And using our white-note hack, you get A minor by playing all the white notes from A to A. Then, to find the relative major key, you simply count up to the third note of your minor scale. So, the relative major key of A minor, is C major. What that means, is that A minor and C major have the exact same notes. If that seems like sorcery to you, then you definitely need to read our free book (download below)!
So, by starting our progression on the Cmaj chord, listeners will think we’re in the key of C major, but then when we hit the Am chord, they’re gonna start getting drawn into the key of A minor, and they’re not getting out! And if you’re interested in why this is in the key of A minor, and not C major, it’s because of all the time spent on the Am chord, which anchors this progression into the key of A minor. And by the way, if you need help writing chord progressions, check out the simple step-by-step guide in our Songwriting & Producing PDF (click & scroll down).
Finally, here’s a couple other things to consider when writing arpeggios. Be sure to use different note values for variation. David actually only uses 1/8 notes in his arpeggios, so we’ve thrown in a few 1/16 notes to spice things up. Also, change some chords in your progression on unexpected beats. Every time David changes chords, it’s on beat 1 or beat 3, so we’ve added some variation by changing chords on beat 2 (here) and beat 4+.
Just a couple quick things before the final playthrough. Firstly, we intentionally wrote these arpeggios to be very similar to David Guetta’s, but we did that for the sake of this lesson. So, now that you know the theory hack, we want you to explore how you can use it creatively with your own musical personality, so it sounds like you! Secondly, if you wanna learn how to write great songs (and finish them!), then check out our cutting-edge online apprenticeship course, where you’ll join over 400 apprentices from over 40 countries, who’re all learning our secret art of song-whispering!
Alright, that’s it. We really hope you found this video helpful, and if you did, subscribe and hit the bell to get notifications. Also, what do you think of this new David Guetta single? We’d love to know, so drop us a comment on YouTube. Thanks for joining the Hack Music Theory revolution, enjoy the video/podcast, and we’ll see you next week!
Kate & Ray Harmony (AKA Revolution Harmony)
Music Teachers & Producers in Vancouver BC, Canada
LEARN
1: Read our free book (below) & watch our YouTube videos
2: Read our "Part 1" book & "Songwriting & Producing" PDF
3: Learn our Secret Art of Song-Whispering, and effortlessly finish your music!
ABOUT
Hack Music Theory is the pioneering notation-free method for making great music. 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), 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 Hack Music Theory method! While these Hack Music Theory YouTube lessons teach music theory for producers and DAW users, they are designed to accommodate all music makers (songwriters, guitarists, etc.) and all genres, from Electronic Music to R&B, Pop to Hip-Hop, Reggae to Rock, EDM/Dance to Metal (and yes, we djefinitely Djent!).
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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How to Write a Bass Line like DJ Khaled "No Brainer"
In this 60-second music theory lesson, you'll learn how to write a bass line like DJ Khaled.
Hello, we are Kate Harmony & Ray Harmony (AKA Revolution Harmony), and welcome to the Hack Music Theory show. This is a 60-second special on DJ Khaled's new single "No Brainer" (ft. Justin Bieber, Chance the Rapper, Quavo).
We really hope you find this music theory lesson helpful, and if you do, be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel, and hit the bell to get notifications. Thanks for joining the Hack Music Theory revolution, and we'll see you next time!
Kate & Ray Harmony (AKA Revolution Harmony)
Music Teachers & Producers in Vancouver BC, Canada
LEARN
1: Read our free book (below) & watch our YouTube videos
2: Read our "Part 1" book & "Songwriting & Producing" PDF
3: Learn our Secret Art of Song-Whispering, and effortlessly finish music!
ABOUT
Hack Music Theory is the pioneering notation-free method for making great music. 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), 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 Hack Music Theory method! While these Hack Music Theory YouTube lessons teach music theory for producers and DAW users, they are designed to accommodate all music makers (songwriters, guitarists, etc.) and all genres, from Electronic Music to R&B, Pop to Hip-Hop, Reggae to Rock, EDM/Dance to Metal (and yes, we djefinitely Djent!).
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
We use this field to detect spam bots. If you fill this in, you will be marked as a spammer.
DOWNLOAD FREE BOOK
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DJ Khaled - No Brainer ft. Justin Bieber, Chance the Rapper, Quavo (Hack Music Theory)
In this 60-second music theory lesson, you'll learn how to write a bass line like DJ Khaled.
Hello, we are Kate Harmony & Ray Harmony (AKA Revolution Harmony), and welcome to the Hack Music Theory show. This is a 60-second special on DJ Khaled's new single "No Brainer" (ft. Justin Bieber, Chance the Rapper, Quavo).
We really hope you find this music theory lesson helpful, and if you do, be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel, and hit the bell to get notifications. Thanks for joining the Hack Music Theory revolution, and we'll see you next time!
Kate & Ray Harmony (AKA Revolution Harmony)
Music Teachers & Producers in Vancouver BC, Canada
LEARN
1: Read our free book (below) & watch our YouTube videos
2: Read our "Part 1" book & "Songwriting & Producing" PDF
3: Learn our Secret Art of Song-Whispering, and effortlessly finish music!
ABOUT
Hack Music Theory is the pioneering notation-free method for making great music. 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), 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 Hack Music Theory method! While these Hack Music Theory YouTube lessons teach music theory for producers and DAW users, they are designed to accommodate all music makers (songwriters, guitarists, etc.) and all genres, from Electronic Music to R&B, Pop to Hip-Hop, Reggae to Rock, EDM/Dance to Metal (and yes, we djefinitely Djent!).
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
We use this field to detect spam bots. If you fill this in, you will be marked as a spammer.
DOWNLOAD FREE BOOK
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July 23, 2018
How to Write a Drum Beat - The 1 That Got Away (Music Theory Hack)
In this video, you’ll discover why your kick drum on beat 1 just isn’t kicking, and you’ll learn how you can overcome this obstacle. But first... Tea!
Hello, we are Kate Harmony & Ray Harmony (AKA Revolution Harmony), and welcome to the Hack Music Theory show, where you are empowered with notation-free theory for making great music in DAWs.
HACK 1 - The 1 That Got Away
Playing a kick drum on beat 1 of your bar, gives your music, well... a kick. However, a kick drum on beat 1 of every bar will quickly result in your listeners acclimating to this. It’s like when your fridge turns on. You notice it at first, but then the hum blends into the background and you don’t hear it any more. So, in order to stop your beat 1 kicks from blending into the background, you need to prevent your listeners from getting used to them. And, as absence makes the heart grow fonder, the best way to keep your beat 1 kick kicking, is to leave it out of every other bar. This “missing” kick on beat 1, is what we call: The 1 That Got Away!
Yeah so these are our kicks down here on C2, and you can see we’re kicking beat 1 in bar one, but then in bar two, no kick on beat 1. And then same again for bars three and four: we’ve got a kick on beat 1 in bar three, but then in bar four, no kick on beat 1. This drum hack is so simple, but so powerful, and you can instantly apply it to any of your drum beats (by simply deleting the kick on beat 1 in every other bar), which will ensure that when you do play the kick on beat 1, it really kicks!
HACK 2 - Wear Different Hats
While open hi-hats on all the offbeat 1/8 notes will get heads bobbing, it’s definitely not enough to keep those heads coming back for more. So, to make a more advanced drum beat (which doesn’t just groove, but also offers your listeners a creative pattern to explore), you need to wear different hats. In other words, after you’ve programmed your offbeat 1/8 notes, take off your “open hats” hat, and put on your “closed hats” hat. Closed hats are great for quick notes (as the sound is short and tight), so have fun experimenting with some 1/16 note patterns on your closed hats. Also, if your tempo is slow enough (like ours here, which is 95 bpm), throw in a few 1/32 notes as well, but be sparing with these, as they’re intense!
So, we started by anchoring our closed hats into the drum beat, by playing a closed hat on beats 1 and 3 of every bar (which is conventionally where the kick would be). This adds weight to those beats, and allows the closed hats to act as a counterbalance to the offbeat open hats. Next, wherever you have the most space between kicks (for us, that’s between beat 2+ and beat 4 in bars two and four), that’s where you can really do something creative with your closed hats, as they won’t interfere with your kicks. Then lastly, sprinkle in a few 1/32 notes for extra spice (like we did here), and you’re done!
EXAMPLE
The example in this video is the bridge section from of our upcoming single “Down with the Drama”, which features the amazing Sarah Serene on vocals. If you missed any of our previous videos on this song, check out our YouTube playlist.
MORE
If you want a more in-depth lesson on how to write a drum beat, we suggest our video: 3 Hacks for Better Drum Beats.
Lastly, do you struggle to finish your music? If you do, then check out our online apprenticeship course, where you’ll learn how to effortlessly write new sections for existing sections, how to transition between them, and most importantly, how to finish your songs! For more info, just head on over to our Apprenticeship Course. Alright, enjoy the video/podcast.
Kate & Ray Harmony (AKA Revolution Harmony)
Music Teachers & Producers in Vancouver BC, Canada
LEARN
1: Read our free book (below) & watch our YouTube videos
2: Read our "Part 1" book & "Songwriting & Producing" PDF
3: Learn how to become a song-whisperer, and effortlessly finish music!
ABOUT
Hack Music Theory is the pioneering notation-free method for making great music. 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), 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 Hack Music Theory method! While these Hack Music Theory YouTube lessons teach music theory for producers and DAW users, they are designed to accommodate all music makers (songwriters, guitarists, etc.) and all genres, from Electronic Music to R&B, Pop to Hip-Hop, Reggae to Rock, EDM/Dance to Metal (and yes, we djefinitely Djent!).
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
We use this field to detect spam bots. If you fill this in, you will be marked as a spammer.
DOWNLOAD FREE BOOK
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July 20, 2018
How to Write a Synth Bass Line like The Prodigy "Need Some1"
In this video, you'll learn how The Prodigy use (and abuse!) the Phrygian mode to write a killer bass synth melody in their new single "Need Some1". But first... Tea!
Hello, we are Kate Harmony & Ray Harmony (AKA Revolution Harmony), and welcome to the Hack Music Theory show, where you are empowered with notation-free theory for making great music in DAWs.
So… today The Prodigy just dropped the lead single “Need Some1” from their upcoming album “No Tourists”. And, considering I’ve been a Prodigy fan since 1994, and considering they’re using a really interesting scale in the main synth line of this new single, I’ve hacked the music theory behind it and I’m gonna show you how you can use this theory in your own music.
One of the main reasons why The Prodigy stands out from most other electronic music, is their super edgy sound! This allows them to crossover and reach fans in other genres, which not many other artists can pull off. For example, they could be headlining an electronic festival one weekend, and a rock festival the next weekend. The Prodigy’s edgy sound is actually not due to the synths they’re using (yeah of course that helps), but the main thing behind their sound, is musical dissonance. And this new single “Need Some1” is the perfect example!
They’re using the Phrygian mode, which is the dark mode, and that is what’s causing the awesome dissonance (i.e. that edgy sound!). Using our white-note hack, you can get Phrygian mode when you play all the white notes from E to E. Remember, once you’ve finished writing your synth line, you can simply select all the MIDI and move it up or down to start wherever you want (The Prodigy song starts on F♯). But, The Prodigy have given Phrygian a little twist. They’re playing the major 6 instead of the minor 6. So if you’re starting from E, like we are here, then this means your notes are: E F G A B C♯ D. Click play above to get stuck into the rest of this lesson!
Lastly, do you struggle to finish your music? If you do, then check out our online apprenticeship course, where you’ll learn how to effortlessly write new sections for existing sections, how to transition between them, and most importantly, how to finish your songs! For more info, just head on over to our Apprenticeship Course. Alright, enjoy the video/podcast.
Kate & Ray Harmony (AKA Revolution Harmony)
Music Teachers & Producers in Vancouver BC, Canada
LEARN
1: Read our free book (below) & watch our YouTube videos
2: Read our "Part 1" book & "Songwriting & Producing" PDF
3: Learn how to become a song-whisperer, and effortlessly finish music!
ABOUT
Hack Music Theory is the pioneering notation-free method for making great music. 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), 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 Hack Music Theory method! While these Hack Music Theory YouTube lessons teach music theory for producers and DAW users, they are designed to accommodate all music makers (songwriters, guitarists, etc.) and all genres, from Electronic Music to R&B, Pop to Hip-Hop, Reggae to Rock, EDM/Dance to Metal (and yes, we djefinitely Djent!).
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.
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“The most brilliant, fast, easy & fun music theory book I’ve ever seen!” DEREK SIVERS, CD Baby founder
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The Prodigy - Need Some1 (Hack Music Theory)
In this video, you'll learn how The Prodigy use (and abuse!) the Phrygian mode to write a killer bass synth melody in their new single "Need Some1". But first... Tea!
Hello, we are Kate Harmony & Ray Harmony (AKA Revolution Harmony), and welcome to the Hack Music Theory show, where you are empowered with notation-free theory for making great music in DAWs.
So… today The Prodigy just dropped the lead single “Need Some1” from their upcoming album “No Tourists”. And, considering I’ve been a Prodigy fan since 1994, and considering they’re using a really interesting scale in the main synth line of this new single, I’ve hacked the music theory behind it and I’m gonna show you how you can use this theory in your own music.
One of the main reasons why The Prodigy stands out from most other electronic music, is their super edgy sound! This allows them to crossover and reach fans in other genres, which not many other artists can pull off. For example, they could be headlining an electronic festival one weekend, and a rock festival the next weekend. The Prodigy’s edgy sound is actually not due to the synths they’re using (yeah of course that helps), but the main thing behind their sound, is musical dissonance. And this new single “Need Some1” is the perfect example!
They’re using the Phrygian mode, which is the dark mode, and that is what’s causing the awesome dissonance (i.e. that edgy sound!). Using our white-note hack, you can get Phrygian mode when you play all the white notes from E to E. Remember, once you’ve finished writing your synth line, you can simply select all the MIDI and move it up or down to start wherever you want (The Prodigy song starts on F♯). But, The Prodigy have given Phrygian a little twist. They’re playing the major 6 instead of the minor 6. So if you’re starting from E, like we are here, then this means your notes are: E F G A B C♯ D. Click play above to get stuck into the rest of this lesson!
Lastly, do you struggle to finish your music? If you do, then check out our online apprenticeship course, where you’ll learn how to effortlessly write new sections for existing sections, how to transition between them, and most importantly, how to finish your songs! For more info, just head on over to our Apprenticeship Course. Alright, enjoy the video/podcast.
Kate & Ray Harmony (AKA Revolution Harmony)
Music Teachers & Producers in Vancouver BC, Canada
LEARN
1: Read our free book (below) & watch our YouTube videos
2: Read our "Part 1" book & "Songwriting & Producing" PDF
3: Learn how to become a song-whisperer, and effortlessly finish music!
ABOUT
Hack Music Theory is the pioneering notation-free method for making great music. 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), 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 Hack Music Theory method! While these Hack Music Theory YouTube lessons teach music theory for producers and DAW users, they are designed to accommodate all music makers (songwriters, guitarists, etc.) and all genres, from Electronic Music to R&B, Pop to Hip-Hop, Reggae to Rock, EDM/Dance to Metal (and yes, we djefinitely Djent!).
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
We use this field to detect spam bots. If you fill this in, you will be marked as a spammer.
DOWNLOAD FREE BOOK
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July 16, 2018
Resting for Energy - Music Theory Hack for Better Bass Lines
In this Hack Music Theory lesson, you'll discover why your bass lines lack energy, and we'll give you two hacks to fix it. But first... Tea!
Hello, we are Kate Harmony & Ray Harmony (AKA Revolution Harmony), and welcome to the Hack Music Theory show, where you are empowered with notation-free theory for making great music in DAWs.
HACK 1 - Resting for Energy
Counterintuitively, adding lots of well-placed rests to your bass line, actually adds energy to it. And there’s two ways you can do this to pump up your low-end. Firstly, adding a rest before a note that’s on the beat, gives that note extra punch. And secondly, adding a rest before a note that’s off the beat, gives that note extra groove. And yes, this bass hack works in all situations, but it’s even more effective when the chords above are smoothly connected (which is known as “legato”), as that contrast provides space for your pumping bass line to do its thang!
Alright so let’s have a look at some examples of those two types of rests. You can see that the first note of our bass line has been shortened, to create a rest on beat 2, which adds extra groove to the note coming in on beat 2+. We then use this same type of rest again on beat 4, to also add extra groove to the note coming in on beat 4+. But then in our second bar, we totally change things up, by using the other type of rest on beat 3, which gives the note on beat 4 an extra punch. Then that’s immediately followed by the other type of rest again at the beginning of our third bar, which brings back that extra groove on beat 1+.
HACK 2 - Phat ♭5
If you’re already using the “funky trio of notes” in your bass line, as we are in the first three beats, then you can kick things up to a whole new level, by borrowing the ♭5 from the Blues scale. And by the way, if you don’t know about the “funky trio of notes”, or the Blues scale, you can learn about all that (and a bunch more) in our Songwriting & Producing PDF. So, using the ♭5 creates a delightfully dirty dissonance, which ramps up the phatness of your bass line big time. You can find the ♭5 by moving one semitone down from the 5 in your key. For example, in our key of F♯ minor, the 5 is C♯, so the ♭5 is C♮. Beware though, this note is non-diatonic (AKA not in the key), so it’s gonna clash with your chords above, and that’s why the ♭5 usually works best as a quick note.
Yeah exactly, and you can see we have two ♭5s in our bass line, one high C and one low C, and both of them are 16th notes. What’s even more interesting though, is that while our first C is over the F♯m chord, our second C is over the E chord, so that second C is actually perceived as a ♭6, not a ♭5. And the context of this E chord makes the C a little less dissonant than it was over the F♯m chord, and that’s a powerful hack in itself. So, use the phat ♭5 over your key’s root chord for maximum dirty dissonance, and try it over another chord in your key for a slightly diluted dissonance, like we did here over the E, which is our ♭VII chord.
EXAMPLE
The example in this video is the bridge section from of our upcoming single “Down with the Drama”, which features the amazing Sarah Serene on vocals. If you missed any of our previous videos on this song, check out our YouTube playlist.
Lastly, do you struggle to finish your music? If you do, then check out our online apprenticeship course, where you’ll learn how to effortlessly write new sections for existing sections, how to transition between them, and most importantly, how to finish your songs! For more info, just head on over to our Apprenticeship Course. Alright, enjoy the video/podcast.
Kate & Ray Harmony (AKA Revolution Harmony)
Music Teachers & Producers in Vancouver BC, Canada
LEARN
1: Read our free book (below) & watch our YouTube videos
2: Read our "Part 1" book & "Songwriting & Producing" PDF
3: Learn how to become a song-whisperer, and effortlessly finish music!
ABOUT
Hack Music Theory is the pioneering notation-free method for making great music. 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), 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 Hack Music Theory method! While these Hack Music Theory YouTube lessons teach music theory for producers and DAW users, they are designed to accommodate all music makers (songwriters, guitarists, etc.) and all genres, from Electronic Music to R&B, Pop to Hip-Hop, Reggae to Rock, EDM/Dance to Metal (and yes, we djefinitely Djent!).
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.
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