Shows / Ray Harmony
Ray Harmony
The unorthodoX ideas of multi award-winning music lecturer Ray Harmony. Older episodes were co-hosted by his wife and protégé Kate Harmony. As a songwriter and producer, Ray has made music with Grammy winners and multiplatinum artists, including Serj Tankian (System Of A Down) and Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine). Join over 255,000 YouTube subscribers learning the fast, easy, and fun way to make music without using AI, cos it ain't no fun getting a robot to write “your” songs! Download…
Episodes
Ray HarmonyAI Is Stealing Far More Than Jobs.
AI Is Stealing Far More Than Jobs. Loss of career/income pale in comparison to loss of purpose. Before I read my new essay, I just wanna let you know that…
Ray HarmonyReplaced by Robots.
Replaced by Robots. The truth is that AI has already taken over. Before I read my new essay, I just wanna let you know that everything on our website is now…
Ray HarmonyOverwhelmed With Content? Use This Method.
Overwhelmed With Content? Use This Method. One simple question can get your time (and your life) back! I deleted all my social media accounts 11 years ago, yet…
Ray HarmonyAI Hitmaker to AI Hitman.
AI Hitmaker to AI Hitman. Wow, that escalated fast! It was only two years ago that I was sitting here at my desk watching a video on how generative-AI was now…
Ray HarmonyThis Song Makes You Feel Good.
Counterclockwise Music. This Song Makes You Feel Good. When I listen to “Kokomo” by the Beach Boys, I’m instantly transported back to my childhood in the ‘80s…
Ray HarmonyOdd Time Signatures That Aren’t Odd.
Odd Time Signatures That Aren’t Odd. Rare Rhythms That Move People. American band Death Cab for Cutie recently released their new album “I Built You a Tower”…
Ray HarmonyWanting Fans Is Not Wanting Validation.
Wanting Fans Is Not Wanting Validation. Music is social. No fans = No relationships. My previous essay, titled “Making Music Is Bad for Mental Health”, was a…
Ray HarmonyMaking Music Is Bad for Your Mental Health.
Making Music Is Bad for Your Mental Health. Songs need listeners, but most people are too busy scrolling nowadays. You’ve just finished a new song. You love…
Ray HarmonyLife in a ‘90s Grunge Band.
Life in a ‘90s Grunge Band. Comparing the music world of 1996 to 2026. It’s 9pm. Friday night. December 20th, 1996. Cape Town, South Africa. I walk out on…
Ray HarmonyCreating Calm Through Song Structure.
Creating Calm Through Song Structure. How to make a sonic sanctuary, like Tamikrest. My favourite Saharan rock band Tamikrest just released their new album…
Ray HarmonyA Couplet a Day, Keeps Insanity Away.
A Couplet a Day, Keeps Insanity Away. Daily creative habits for better mental health. We’ve just moved. Again. For more than a decade now, Kate and I have been…
Ray HarmonyForget Meditation, Listen to Music.
Forget Meditation, Listen to Music. Meditating isn’t effective enough anymore. As people become more addicted to their phones, society’s obsession with…
Ray HarmonyWriters & Readers Against AI.
Writers & Readers Against AI. If you’re pro-human, join Paul Kingsnorth’s campaign. The brilliant English writer Paul Kingsnorth recently launched a campaign…
Ray HarmonyAI Human vs Human AI.
AI Human vs Human AI. A brief history of transhuman music. Most AI-generated songs now sound more human than most human-made songs. How did music go so…
Ray HarmonyMusical Heroes in the AI Age.
Musical Heroes in the AI Age. Nø Førmat! You need to know about this record label. Nø Førmat! is an independent record label based in Paris. They’ve been…
Ray HarmonyWe Are the Orchid Children.
We Are the Orchid Children. A call to highly sensitive musicians. “Dandelion” children are those resilient and healthy kids who can survive and thrive under…
Ray HarmonyThe Music Theory of Fun.
The Music Theory of Fun. These two things make songs feel good… In my previous essay Who Killed the Fun, Fun, Fun? I told the story of how music was…
Ray HarmonyWho Killed the Fun, Fun, Fun?
Who Killed the Fun, Fun, Fun? Music used to be our greatest joy, then this happened… 1964. Fun, Fun, Fun. That was a song on the album “Shut Down, Volume 2” by…
Ray HarmonyMusical Memoirs & Sonic Scrapbooks.
Musical Memoirs & Sonic Scrapbooks. How to find purpose, passion, and meaning in your life. Okay so what’s a musical memoir? Well, the Oxford Dictionary…
Ray HarmonyAn Effortless New Year’s Resolution.
An Effortless New Year’s Resolution. One simple question that will change your future. New year’s resolutions don’t work. All the studies on them reveal this…
Ray HarmonyThe Best Music Is Behind Us. But That’s a Good Thing!
The Best Music Is Behind Us. But that’s a good thing! Here’s why… This essay began as a “Best Album of 2025” post, where I was going to share my favourite…
Ray HarmonyThe Geography of Musical Scales.
The Geography of Musical Scales. Finding peace in pentatonic places. It’s thought that pentatonic scales are the most ancient of all the musical scales…
Ray HarmonyMusic is Mind Control.
Music is Mind Control. Lyrics are little Derren Brown’s in your brain. Do we have free will? That ancient question actually misses the point, because the…
Ray HarmonyThis Is The Only Pure Music.
This Is The Only Pure Music. A celebration of non-classical absolute music. Music has united people for millennia, but nowadays it’s been weaponized to divide…
Ray HarmonyDon’t Lie! You Listen to AI Songs.
Don’t Lie! You Listen to AI Songs. There’s no way to avoid them, unless you do this… I’ve been speaking out against AI-generated music for a while now, but…
Ray HarmonyMusic Is Dead. Good Riddance!
Music Is Dead. Good Riddance! AI killed the recording star. Now what? Have you heard AI-generated music? It’s better than most of the music that humans are…
Ray HarmonyYou vs Phone. Who Will Win?
You vs Phone. Who Will Win? A musical method to take your attention back! How many seconds can you sit still and focus on your breathing, without your mind…
Ray HarmonyThe Uglification of Music.
The Uglification of Music. Can a return to beauty save music? Okay I know you’ve just started reading this, but please stop (temporarily), then go and listen…
Ray HarmonyDon’t Trust Me, I’m an Expert.
Don’t Trust Me, I’m an Expert. Confessions of an INFJ. I’m a multi award-winning music lecturer with over 30 years of teaching experience, 10 of those years…
Ray HarmonyYou Can’t Make Music without Using Theory.
You Can’t Make Music without Using Theory. “I don’t use music theory, because rules limit my creativity.” If I had a dollar for every time I heard someone say…
Ray HarmonyHearing Music from the Future.
Hearing Music from the Future. Materialist science tells us that we hear with our ears, and see with our eyes. But if that’s true, then how do we explain…
Ray HarmonyYou're Listening to Music Wrong.
You’re Listening to Music Wrong. You’re Listening to Music Wrong. I am, too. We all are. It’s tragic, but we can fix it. Over the last 20 years, music has been…
Ray HarmonyThe 4 Types of Artist. Which Are You?
The 4 Types of Artist. Which Are You? Every song is born from an idea. So where do ideas come from? In other words: What or who is the cause of your…
Ray HarmonyAI Is Not a Tool. Stop Calling It That.
AI Is Not a Tool. Stop Calling It That. I’ve tattooed myself. Three times! You know what? It hurts a whole lot more when you do it to yourself. You know what…
Ray HarmonyAI Is Killing Music! This Is How We Save It.
AI Is Killing Music! This Is How We Save It. Hardly anything is real anymore! And that includes most people. They walk around staring at their phones with…
Ray HarmonyAI Saves Us Time. That’s Bad!
AI Saves Us Time. That’s Bad! Time is our only non-renewable resource. People talk about “spending” time and “spending” money, but these two types of spending…
Ray HarmonyAI Can’t Make Music
AI Can't Make Music. AI can’t make music. Let me explain… The reason almost everyone thinks AI can make music, is because the definition of music has changed…
Ray HarmonyMaking Music is Hard. Why Bother?
Making Music is Hard. Why Bother? I never thought this day would come. But here it is. After 30 years of teaching music to thousands of students, I’m facing a…
Ray HarmonyThe Art of Arranging
Every song is a musical story. When we read a story, we don't want a timeline of events. We want an unfolding narrative with scene setting, emotional dynamics…
Ray HarmonySmooth Chord Changes
If your chord changes sound disjointed, you probably need to use inversions. That's just the fancy word for re-ordering the notes of a chord. For example, Am…
Ray HarmonyMelodic Motifs
If your melody is sounding boring, it probably lacks a motif. A motif is a short idea that's repeated to give the melody structure. So, play your melody and…
Ray HarmonyExtend Your Melody's Range
Got a boring melody? It may be due to a small range, i.e. the distance between its lowest and highest note. This should be around a 7th or an octave. If it's…
Ray HarmonySpice Up Your Drums
If your beats all sound kinda similar, here's a hack to spice 'em up. Copy & paste your bass line into your drum track. Then divide those notes between the…
Ray HarmonyWant Epic Bass? Do This.
An epic bass line needs 2 things: root notes to make it solid, and non-root notes to make it interesting. So, start by playing the root of each chord. Then…
Ray HarmonyWant Epic Chords? Do This.
To write an epic chord progression, you need common notes. For example, Am and Em both contain the note E, so E is a common note. It creates a strong link…
Ray HarmonyWant Epic Melodies? Do This.
To write an epic melody, start with a phrase of small intervals (i.e. 2nds and 3rds). Then, jump straight to a high note using a big interval (i.e. 6th or…
Ray HarmonyUse Toms for Better Beats
It's rare to hear toms in drum beats. They're usually only in fills. That's a shame, because toms can add variety to your beats in a way that nothing else can…
Ray HarmonyChord Quality Ratio
Every chord progression tells a musical story. So regardless of the key, think about how many major chords you want compared to minor chords. This ratio…
Ray HarmonyChange Keys
Most new songs are in the same key from start to finish, which is one of the main reasons why they get boring after a few listens. Musically they don't go…
Ray HarmonyBass Contour Flow
Most bass lines consist of only roots, or roots and 5ths. Boring! Remember, bass lines are melodies. They need contour, too. So, if your bass lines jump around…
Ray HarmonyMore Emotional Melodies
The 3rd note in a chord holds its emotion. So, to emphasize the happiness of a major chord, play its 3rd in the melody above (e.g. over Cmaj, play E). To…
Ray HarmonyMode = Mood
Modes are easy. They're just scales with different moods. For example, if you wanna make dark music, use Phrygian. That's all the white notes, with E as the…
Ray HarmonyDrum Fills
Most drum fills end on beat 1. This usually makes them predictable and boring. Try this instead: End your fill on a snare hit – normally around beat 2. This…
Ray HarmonyBetter Kick Patterns
Drum beats get boring after a few loops. The main reason is 1-bar kick patterns. So, try this: Repeat your snare and cymbal patterns every bar, like usual, but…
Ray HarmonyMelodic Tension + Resolution
Harmonic notes are in the chord, so they feel resolved. Non-harmonic notes are not in the chord, so they feel tense. Balance these two types of notes in your…
Ray HarmonyHow to Write a Catchy Melody • Music Theory from Glass Animals "Creatures in Heaven"
How to Write a Catchy Melody. Free PDF Tutorial includes multitrack MIDI file If the link above does not work, paste this into your browser…
Ray HarmonyHow to Write Sweeping Arpeggios • Music Theory from Daft Punk "Motherboard"
How to Write Sweeping Arpeggios. Free PDF Tutorial includes multitrack MIDI file If the link above does not work, paste this into your browser…
Ray HarmonyHow to Write Heavy BASS Lines • Music Theory from Front Line Assembly "Purge"
How to Write Heavy BASS Lines Step 1. Syncopated Octaves Set up one bar of 4|4 with your grid on 1/16 notes, and your tempo at 110 BPM. You’re gonna start by…
Ray HarmonyHow to Write Advanced DRUMS • Music Theory from Royal Blood "Mountains at Midnight"
How to Write Advanced DRUMS Step 1. Pattern Set up two bars of 4|4 with your grid set to 1/16 notes, and your tempo at 136 BPM. Now, instead of starting to…
Ray HarmonyHow to Write Locrian BASS Lines • Music Theory from Rezz "Suffer in Silence"
How to Write Locrian BASS Lines Step 1. Basic Set up four bars with an 1/8 note grid, and your tempo at 97 BPM. You’re gonna start by writing a basic bass line…