Ray Harmony's Blog, page 33

Why You Need to Spell Music with Numbers

Damian from Birmingham, England emailed us with this question: “I’ve watched all your videos and learnt so much already, thank you. I kinda get the idea of numbering notes, but I’m not sure how the numbers with flats work. Can you please explain how this whole numbering system works?” Thank you Damian, great question and a great opportunity to talk about one of the most important concepts in music theory: Spelling! But first, here’s my one sentence answer to your question:

Spelling is the numerical way of writing or talking about music, where each note is assigned the number of its degree in a scale, or chord.

Let’s work through an example of this now, using the A major and A minor scales. Remember, the major scale is the original scale, so all other scales are spelled in a way that shows how they differ from the major scale. Using the major scale semitone formula starting from A, we get A major: A B C♯ D E F♯ G♯, and then back to A an octave higher. We spell the notes of major scales as: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7, and 8, which is the 1 an octave higher. By the way, if you want to know more about semitone formulas and how to use them, check out chapters four and five in our free ebook: 12 Music Theory Hacks to Learn Scales & Chords. And if you want a much faster, but more advanced, method of working out scales, check out our Key Signature hack in the Hack Music Theory for Songwriting & Producing PDF.

Now, using the natural minor scale semitone formula starting from A, we get A natural minor: A B C D E F G, and back to A. Remember in A major the 3rd was C♯, but in A minor it’s C. In A major the 6th was F♯, but in A minor it’s F. And in A major the 7th was G♯, but in A minor it’s G. This tells us that the 3rd, 6th and 7th notes in natural minor scales are one semitone lower than where they are in major scales. To represent this one semitone lower, we add a flat (♭) to the spelling of the 3rd, 6th and 7th notes in natural minor scales, so in A minor the C is spelled as ♭3, the F is spelled as ♭6 and the G is spelled as ♭7. To be clear, these flats tell us that their associated notes are one semitone down from where they are in a major scale, they do not tell us that the notes themselves are flats, like in A minor where the ♭3 is C, a white note.

Lastly. Why is spelling useful? Let me show you one of many common examples that occurs in studios every day. Say you have a melody in A minor, like this: A → F → E → C, so that’s the 1 → ♭6 → 5 → ♭3. But, this melody is too low for the singer you’re working with, so you need to raise the whole melody into their range. This is called transposing, it happens all the time, and it’s super simple when you know the spelling of what you’re doing. So, say you want to move this melody from A minor up to D minor, you merely play the same spelling: 1 → ♭6 → 5 → ♭3, but in the D natural minor scale, so that’s: D → B♭ → A → F. Easy!

So that’s my answer! Thanks for reading. Now, here’s an exercise for you: Take your favourite melody and work out the spelling of its notes. This will start to reveal your personal preferences, which you can then use to develop your own unique style of writing music. This is one of the most powerful uses for spelling! Please let us know how it goes in the comments below, and if you’d like to learn more about spelling, check out chapter eight in our free book: 12 Music Theory Hacks to Learn Scales & Chords.

Do you feel a little bit smarter now than you did a few minutes ago? Then hit Subscribe so we can do it all again next week! And if you have a question you’d like us to answer here on Q&A Tuesday, please connect with us.

Kate :)

PS. Have you downloaded our free music theory book yet?

007 | Why You Need to Spell Music with Numbers

Damian from Birmingham, England emailed us with this question: “I’ve watched all your videos and learnt so much already, thank you. I kinda get the idea of numbering notes, but I’m not sure how the numbers with flats work. Can you please explain how this whole numbering system works?” Thank you Damian, great question and a great opportunity to talk about one of the most important concepts in music theory: Spelling! But first, here’s my one sentence answer to your question:

Spelling is the numerical way of writing or talking about music, where each note is assigned the number of its degree in a scale, or chord.

Let’s work through an example of this now, using the A major and A minor scales. Remember, the major scale is the original scale, so all other scales are spelled in a way that shows how they differ from the major scale. Using the major scale semitone formula starting from A, we get A major: A B C♯ D E F♯ G♯, and then back to A an octave higher. We spell the notes of major scales as: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7, and 8, which is the 1 an octave higher. By the way, if you want to know more about semitone formulas and how to use them, check out chapters four and five in our free ebook: 12 Music Theory Hacks to Learn Scales & Chords. And if you want a much faster, but more advanced, method of working out scales, check out our Key Signature hack in the Hack Music Theory for Songwriting & Producing PDF.

Now, using the natural minor scale semitone formula starting from A, we get A natural minor: A B C D E F G, and back to A. Remember in A major the 3rd was C♯, but in A minor it’s C. In A major the 6th was F♯, but in A minor it’s F. And in A major the 7th was G♯, but in A minor it’s G. This tells us that the 3rd, 6th and 7th notes in natural minor scales are one semitone lower than where they are in major scales. To represent this one semitone lower, we add a flat (♭) to the spelling of the 3rd, 6th and 7th notes in natural minor scales, so in A minor the C is spelled as ♭3, the F is spelled as ♭6 and the G is spelled as ♭7. To be clear, these flats tell us that their associated notes are one semitone down from where they are in a major scale, they do not tell us that the notes themselves are flats, like in A minor where the ♭3 is C, a white note.

Lastly. Why is spelling useful? Let me show you one of many common examples that occurs in studios every day. Say you have a melody in A minor, like this: A → F → E → C, so that’s the 1 → ♭6 → 5 → ♭3. But, this melody is too low for the singer you’re working with, so you need to raise the whole melody into their range. This is called transposing, it happens all the time, and it’s super simple when you know the spelling of what you’re doing. So, say you want to move this melody from A minor up to D minor, you merely play the same spelling: 1 → ♭6 → 5 → ♭3, but in the D natural minor scale, so that’s: D → B♭ → A → F. Easy!

So that’s my answer! Thanks for watching. Now, here’s an exercise for you: Take your favourite melody and work out the spelling of its notes. This will start to reveal your personal preferences, which you can then use to develop your own unique style of writing music. This is one of the most powerful uses for spelling! Please let us know how it goes in the comments below, and if you’d like to learn more about spelling, check out chapter eight in our free book: 12 Music Theory Hacks to Learn Scales & Chords.

Do you feel a little bit smarter now than you did a few minutes ago? Then hit Subscribe so we can do it all again next week! And if you have a question you’d like us to answer here on Q&A Tuesday, please connect with us.

Kate :)

PS. Have you downloaded our free music theory book?

How to Write Great Songs: Guitar Riffs (Song 1)

How do write an epic riff that’s so tasty it sounds just as good on a guitar as it does on a synth? Easy, just follow these three music theory hacks:

Step 1: Start with the root note of each chord in your chord progression
If you’re working in a digital audio workstation (DAW), then copy and paste the MIDI of your chord progression into your guitar/synth track. Now delete all the notes in it, other than the root note of each chord. Be sure not to get confused with any inversions though, cos if you’ve inverted a chord, the root will not be the lowest note. You don’t need to hear the root notes, just see where they change, so mute them all now. These muted root notes show you the harmonic rhythm, which is the template you’ll write your guitar/synth riff over. If you’re doing this old-school with a pen and paper, then just write down the root note of each chord, and you’re ready to start. The root notes in our E Dorian chord progression in this video lesson, are: E → B → G → A → D

Step 2: Break down each chord into its individual notes
Remember, most chords contain three notes, and guitars and synths (especially higher-pitched ones) thrive on melody and harmony. So, break down your chords into their individual notes, and then approach them melodically. This music theory hack unbundles each chord and frees its individual notes, so you can play them wherever and however you want.  As a result, you don’t need to rely on those awful guitar “shapes” or keyboard “block” chords that most other musicians use (which is why most other musicians all sound the same!). As always, be sure to use non-harmonic notes too, i.e. notes that are not in the chord, but are still in the scale.

Step 3. Break up all melodic movements of a perfect 4th and perfect 5th
These are perfectly vibrating intervals that sound way too similar to each other, and are therefore very boring. We need to break up these melodic movements, by adding a note in between. The most thrilling part of doing this is actually the unpredictable and magical detours your riffs will take, which would never happen if it weren’t for these boring intervals needing to be spiced up. For more info on this vital step, refer to my Melody Checklist. I spent ages pouring everything I know about writing melodies into an ultimate checklist, so if you want every melody you ever write to be a great one, use the Melody Checklist in my Hack Music Theory for Songwriting & Producing PDF.

Finally, here's the guitar tab for the riff in this video lesson. Enjoy!
[image error]And that, my friends, is how you write an epic guitar or synth riff! Over to you now, so have fun writing great riffs over your chord progressions, and be sure to connect and let us know how you get on with this hackwork. Until next week, happy songwriting!

Ray :)

PS. Have you downloaded our free music theory book?

006 | How to Write Great Songs: Guitar Riffs (Song 1)

How do write an epic riff that’s so tasty it sounds just as good on a guitar as it does on a synth? Easy, just follow these three music theory hacks:

Step 1: Start with the root note of each chord in your chord progression
If you’re working in a digital audio workstation (DAW), then copy and paste the MIDI of your chord progression into your guitar/synth track. Now delete all the notes in it, other than the root note of each chord. Be sure not to get confused with any inversions though, cos if you’ve inverted a chord, the root will not be the lowest note. You don’t need to hear the root notes, just see where they change, so mute them all now. These muted root notes show you the harmonic rhythm, which is the template you’ll write your guitar/synth riff over. If you’re doing this old-school with a pen and paper, then just write down the root note of each chord, and you’re ready to start. The root notes in our E Dorian chord progression in this video lesson, are: E → B → G → A → D

Step 2: Break down each chord into its individual notes
Remember, most chords contain three notes, and guitars and synths (especially higher-pitched ones) thrive on melody and harmony. So, break down your chords into their individual notes, and then approach them melodically. This music theory hack unbundles each chord and frees its individual notes, so you can play them wherever and however you want.  As a result, you don’t need to rely on those awful guitar “shapes” or keyboard “block” chords that most other musicians use (which is why most other musicians all sound the same!). As always, be sure to use non-harmonic notes too, i.e. notes that are not in the chord, but are still in the scale.

Step 3. Break up all melodic movements of a perfect 4th and perfect 5th
These are perfectly vibrating intervals that sound way too similar to each other, and are therefore very boring. We need to break up these melodic movements, by adding a note in between. The most thrilling part of doing this is actually the unpredictable and magical detours your riffs will take, which would never happen if it weren’t for these boring intervals needing to be spiced up. For more info on this vital step, refer to my Melody Checklist. I spent ages pouring everything I know about writing melodies into an ultimate checklist, so if you want every melody you ever write to be a great one, use the Melody Checklist in my Hack Music Theory for Songwriting & Producing PDF.

Finally, here's the guitar tab for the riff in this video lesson. Enjoy!
[image error]And that, my friends, is how you write an epic guitar or synth riff! Over to you now, so have fun writing great riffs over your chord progressions, and be sure to connect and let us know how you get on with this hackwork. Until next week, happy songwriting!

Ray :)

PS. Have you downloaded our free music theory book?

005 | How to Make Happy Funk

Roland from Germany emailed us and asked: “I really love the blues scale, it's so juicy and funky for writing bass lines. But if I've got it right, you can only make a blues scale out of a minor scale, right? Sometimes I would love to have a kind of blues scale in a major, though. So here's my question: Is there an equivalent blues scale for major?” Thank you Roland, this is a rather advanced songwriting question, so I'm excited to explore the options with you. But first, here's my one-sentence answer to your question:

Funky bass lines rely heavily on the trio of notes: 1, ♭3 and ♭7, so while we can never have a ♭3 in a major mode (as that would turn it into a minor), we can bring two-thirds of that funk by getting a groove going between the 1 and the ♭7.

Let me give you an example. Here's the A Aeolian mode, AKA the natural minor scale: A B C D E F G. In order to make it into a blues scale, we first have to delete the 2 (i.e. B) and the ♭6 (i.e. F), which gives us a pentatonic minor scale. Now we add the ♭5 (i.e. E♭) and we've got a blues scale: 1 ♭3 4 ♭5 5 and ♭7 (i.e. A C D E♭ E G). The ultimate funky scale!

But if we look closely, we'll notice that the only note we need to change to turn this into a major, is the ♭3 (i.e. C). The 4, 5 and ♭7 are found in the major mode Mixolydian, and the ♭5 is only ever used as a spicy passing note. Therefore, once we've changed the ♭3 to a 3 (i.e. C♯), we can use this Mixolydian version of the blues scale: 1 3 4 ♭5 5 ♭7 (i.e. A C♯ D E♭ E G) to make a happy, funky bass line.

So that's my answer! Thanks for reading. Now, here's my question to you: Do you have a Mixolydian chord progression you feel is lacking in energy? If so, try funk up its bass line with this music theory hack, and please let us know how it goes in the comments below. Remember, if you need help with scales/modes, like blues or Mixolydian, check out our books and PDFs.

Do you feel a little bit smarter now than you did a few minutes ago? Then subscribe so we can do it all again next week! And if you have a question you'd like us to answer here on Q&A Tuesday, please connect with us!

Kate :)

PS. Have you downloaded our free music theory book?

004 | How to Write Great Songs: Bass Lines (Song 1)

Follow this simple step-by-step Hack Music Theory guide for writing great bass lines!

Step 1: Start with the root note of each chord in your chord progression
If you’re working in a digital audio workstation (DAW), then copy and paste the MIDI of your chord progression into your bass track. Now delete all the notes in it, other than the root note of each chord. Be sure not to get confused with any inversions though, cos if you’ve inverted a chord, the root will not be the lowest note. You don’t need to hear the root notes, just see where they change, so mute them all now. You’ll also have to move them down an octave or two, as your chords would have been higher pitched than the bass. These muted root notes show you the harmonic rhythm, which is the template you’ll write your bass line over. If you’re doing this old-school with a pen and paper, then just write down the root note of each chord, and you’re ready to start. The root notes in our E Dorian chord progression in this video lesson are: E → B → G → A → D

Step 2: Play around with a rhythm on each chord’s root note
Listen to your chord progression, really listen, it will tell you what kind of bass line it wants to sit on. Our harmonic rhythm is rather slow in our chord progression, so we imagined a bouncy bass line underneath to contrast and enliven it. We came up with a little 5/16 over 4/4 polymeter as our rhythmic motif (i.e. a short musical idea). Remember to always be hunting for motifs, as they’re the gold that elevates a great melody to new heights! Our little polymeter motif gave the bass line a super syncopated feel from structurally accenting (not randomly accenting) off beats.

Step 3. Break up all melodic movements of a perfect 4th and perfect 5th
These are perfectly vibrating intervals that sound way too similar to each other, and are therefore very boring. We need to break up these melodic movements, by adding a note in between. The most thrilling part of doing this is actually the unpredictable and magical detours your melodies will take, which would never happen if it weren’t for these boring intervals needing to be spiced up. We had a perfect 5th (7 semitones) between our E and B, and a perfect 4th (5 semitones) between our A and D, which we fixed with an exciting detour. For more on this vital step, refer to my Melody Checklist. I spent ages pouring everything I know about writing melodies into an ultimate checklist, so if you want every melody you ever write to be a great one, use the Melody Checklist in my Hack Music Theory for Songwriting & Producing PDF.

Step 4. Move some more notes off the roots
Bass is the foundation of music, upon which everything else is built. So, a great bass line needs to provide stability by centering itself around the root note of each chord. If this is all the bass does though, it turns into a mere frequency, not an instrument adding value to the music. This is why we need to create moments of instability by moving off the roots and playing some other notes in the scale. Too much stability will make your bass line boring, but too much instability will make your musical foundation weak and unable to hold all the chords and melodies above it.

And there you have it, a great bass line in four easy steps! Over to you now, so have fun writing great bass lines, and be sure to connect and let us know how you get on with this hackwork. Until next week, happy songwriting!

Ray :)

PS. Have you downloaded our free music theory book?

003 | Why Learn Music Theory?

Sara Sky from Vancouver Island, Canada asks: “How does theory relate to expressing different emotions in a composition?” Wow, what an awesome question, thank you Sara! And what a perfect topic to kick off our Q&A Tuesdays.

So, here's my one sentence answer to your question: Music is the communication of emotion through sound, and music theory is the knowledge of which notes express which emotions.

Let me give you an example. Say you're starting a new job and you wanna write a song about everything you're feeling. You're feeling excited about all the new possibilities, but you're also feeling nervous about all the new things you'll have to learn, and on top of that, you're feeling a little down cos you're missing your colleagues from your old job. This is a real mixed bag of emotions, and if you're trying to write this song by ear, it's safe to say you're not going to do justice to your feelings.

This is actually a huge problem in the popular music world, where most songs are made by ear. Songwriters have no problem conveying their message through the lyrics, but the accompanying music is a total guessing game. This results in a ton of songs that have internal battles going on between the music and the lyrics. The lyrics say one thing, and the music says something totally different. There is nothing more powerful than a song that conveys the same message through its lyrics and its music. But, the ability to do that requires music theory knowledge; there's no other way to achieve this.

So that's my answer! Thanks for reading. If you feel a little bit smarter now than you did a few minutes ago, then please subscribe to our mailing list so we can do it all again next week! Now, here's my question to all of you: What emotion, or combination of emotions, are you struggling to express through your music? Let us know in the comments below. And, if you have a theory question you'd like us to answer here on Q&A Tuesday, please Connect with us!

Kate :)

PS. Have you downloaded our free music theory book?

002 | How to Write Great Songs: Chord Progressions (Song 1)

How do you go from a blank canvas to a great chord progression in half an hour? Easy, just follow these six steps.

Step 1: Choose the scale/mode that reflects what you're feeling
In this session we chose Dorian, which sounds like the cloud with a silver lining. Dorian is a minor mode so it's obviously on the sad side of things, but unlike Aeolian (AKA “the minor scale”), Dorian has an unmistakable optimism to its character. For all the modes' individual personalities and vibes, check out my Hack Music Theory for Songwriting & Producing PDF.

Step 2: Choose a key note for your mode
What note do you want to start the mode from? We went with E this time, which is a favourite for guitarists as it's the lowest note we can play on a guitar in standard tuning. If you're working with a singer though, ask them what range they like to sing in. Start your mode in the lower (but still very comfortable) side of their range, so it climbs up to somewhere on their higher side by the time you get to the octave of your key note. If you can't decide where to start, just start anywhere, as you can always move everything up or down at a later stage.

Step 3: Write out the mode from your key note
You can do this either by counting semitones, or by working out the key signature. I cover the semitone approach in Hack Music Theory, Part 1, and I cover the key signature approach in the aforementioned Songwriting PDF. For Dorian, the semitone formula is 2 1 2 2 2 1 2, so from our E key note, we get: E F♯ G A B C♯ D

Step 4: Write out all the chords in your mode
Do this by using the "leapfrogging" pattern for building chords: play a note (e.g. E), skip the next note (e.g. F♯), play the next note (e.g. G), skip the next note (e.g. A), and then play the next note (e.g. B), resulting in a triad (e.g. EGB). Do this from all seven notes. Here's our chords in E Dorian: Em / F♯m / Gmaj / Amaj / Bm / C♯dim / Dmaj

Step 5: Choose the specific chords that tell your musical story
Every mode has both major (happy) and minor (sad) chords, so pick your chords and their order in a way that exactly conveys what you want to say. Also, pay attention to the harmonic rhythm of your chord progression, i.e. how long you spend on each chord. We chose: Em → Bm → Gmaj → Amaj → Dmaj

Step 6: Use inversions and sus chords to make your chord changes flow
Changing from one chord to another breaks the flow for a split second, and therefore creates a weak link in the music. Most popular music songs are full of these weak links, but here's how you can not only avoid them, but turn them into opportunities for extra awesomeness! Whenever you have a chord change where the two chords share a note, that's called a common note, and they're our best friends. Re-arranging the notes in your chords to keep each common note in the same place within the chords (i.e. bottom, middle, or top), is by far the best way to make your chord progressions sound ultra smooth and professional. Whenever you have adjacent chords though, e.g. Em and F♯m, you won't have a common note, so you need to make a common note by using a sus chord. Check out the video lesson above for details on this mega helpful hack!

And that's that, a great chord progression in six easy steps! Have fun writing, and be sure to Connect and let us know how you got on with your homework, or as we prefer to call it, hackwork. Until next week, happy songwriting!

Ray :)

PS. Have you downloaded our free music theory book?

001 | Introducing... the HACK MUSIC THEORY show!

Hello, we are Kate Harmony and Ray Harmony, AKA Revolution Harmony, and we're over the moon happy to introduce to you... the HACK MUSIC THEORY show!

Every Thursday (which you must please refer to as Theory Thursday from this day on!) you’ll find us here, sharing our top-secret songwriting hacks with you, for free. We’re writing new music every week, and teaching the music theory behind it as we go. So whether you’re a beginner or a professional, these hacks will have you writing great songs in no time.

After decades of teaching ‘popular’ and ‘classical’ music theory, Ray created a unique crossover method for songwriting, which he called Hack Music Theory. We use this method to write all our songs, some of which have even featured Grammy-winning multiplatinum artists Serj Tankian (System of a Down), Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine), Kool Keith, and many more. Ray is also an award-winning music lecturer and author of the critically-acclaimed book series, Hack Music Theory.

Why are we giving away our top-secret hacks, in this ultra competitive music industry? Because a world with better music, is a better world.

Ray & Kate :)

PS. Have you downloaded our free music theory book?