Hack Music Theory

By Kate & Ray Harmony

What's Hack Music Theory about?

Join over 230K YouTube subscribers learning the fast, easy & fun way to make music. Taught by multi award-winning college lecturer Ray Harmony, who's made music with multiplatinum Grammy-winning artists. Co-taught by Kate, Ray's protégé and wife. Download FREE Book at HackMusicTheory.com

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Hack Music Theory episodes:

03.18.2024
How to Write Better Snare Drum Rhythms • Music Theory from Matt Sassari & Tony Romera "Snare Thing"
How to Write Better Snare Rhythms. Download PDF Tutorial includes MIDI + WAV file examples If the link above does not work, paste this into your browser: https://hackmusictheory.com/album/2806684/snare-rhythms Intro. While it’s normal to hear at least a few different kick patterns and...
06.11.2023
How to Write Heavy BASS Lines • Music Theory from Front Line Assembly "Purge"
How to Write Heavy BASS Lines Step 1. Syncopated OctavesSet up one bar of 4|4 with your grid on 1/16 notes, and your tempo at 110 BPM. You’re gonna start by using only one note, and the octave of that note....
06.04.2023
How to Write Advanced DRUMS • Music Theory from Royal Blood "Mountains at Midnight"
How to Write Advanced DRUMS Step 1. PatternSet 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 make your drum beat with the usual kick on beat...
05.28.2023
How to Write Locrian BASS Lines • Music Theory from Rezz "Suffer in Silence"
How to Write Locrian BASS Lines Step 1. BasicSet 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 that plays every 1/8 note. This creates momentum. We’re...
05.22.2023
How to Write Beautiful CHORDS • Music Theory from Sleep Token "Take Me Back to Eden"
How to Write a Beautiful CHORD Progression Step 1. Beauty Set your grid to 1/16 notes and your tempo to 113 BPM. We’re in the key of A minor here, which is just all the white notes from A to...
05.14.2023
How to Write a BASS Line with Harmony • Music Theory from GoGo Penguin "Everything Is Going to Be OK"
How to Write a BASS Line with Harmony Step 1. Low Harmony is when two or more notes are played together. And sadly, it’s rare to hear harmony in a bass line. The word “line” is actually used to convey the fact...
05.07.2023
How to Write a Standout MELODY • Music Theory from PJ Harvey "A Child's Question, August"
How to Write a Standout MELODY Step 1. First ImpressionsThere are many ways to write a standout melody, but it’s difficult to improve on the method PJ Harvey uses in her new single “A Child’s Question, August”. That’s because nothing grabs...
04.23.2023
How to Write a Locrian RIFF • Music Theory from Metallica "72 Seasons"
How to Write a Locrian RIFF FREE: Download This Tutorial as PDF Includes multitrack MIDI example Step 1. OctavesSet your grid to 1/16 notes and your tempo to 97 BPM. You’re gonna start by writing a creative pattern using only octaves. If you’re...
04.09.2023
How to Write a Catchy MELODY • Music Theory from Beastie Boys "Sure Shot"
How to Write a Catchy MELODY FREE: Download This Tutorial as PDFIncludes multitrack MIDI example Step 1. ScaleThere are two types of catchy melodies: annoyingly repetitive ones you can’t stop singing but actually hate, and awesome ones that are memorable cos...
04.02.2023
How to Write Energetic BASS Lines • Music Theory from The Chemical Brothers "No Reason"
How to Write Energetic BASS Lines Step 1. Rhythmic Energy There’s a super energetic bass line in the new single “No Reason” by The Chemical Brothers. To write a bass line like this, you need a lot of movement. Not just rhythmic...
03.20.2023
How to Write a Lydian MELODY • Music Theory from Depeche Mode "Ghosts Again"
How to Write a Lydian MELODY FREE: Download This Tutorial as PDFIncludes multitrack MIDI example Simple music can be great music. Depeche Mode’s lead single “Ghosts Again” from their new album “Memento Mori” is proof. It has a well-written and creative vocal melody in...
03.09.2023
How to Write Polymeter DRUMS • Music Theory from Periphery "Atropos"
How to Write Polymeter DRUMS Step 1. Kick in 7The new Periphery single “Atropos” (from the album Periphery V: Djent Is Not a Genre) opens with a classic djent polymeter, which we love! Staying true to Meshuggah’s original polymeter recipe, the...
03.01.2023
How to Write a Layered RIFF • Music Theory from Polyphia "Ego Death"
How to Write a Layered Guitar RIFF Step 1. BassThe first thing you notice in the opening riff of “Ego Death” by Polyphia is that there are two layers. There’s a bass line and a lead melody all in one riff,...
02.17.2023
Drum Secrets of Hip-Hop Legends
Drum Secrets of Hip-Hop Legends DOWNLOAD This Tutorial as PDFIncludes Bonus Hack, MIDI & WAV file examples Could you hear the missing ingredient in our drum beat? (click play above). If not, don’t worry, that’s because the beat is actually pretty...
02.10.2023
Genre Project 2023
Genre Project 2023 As with all genres, there are theoretical characteristics that make music recognizable as hip-hop. And those characteristics can be isolated and applied to other genres to spice them up. Considering hip-hop has been the most popular genre for...
11.18.2022
Why You Struggle to Make Music
Why You Struggle to Make Music Do you sometimes find yourself staring at a blank screen, with absolutely no ideas? Then we have the solution for preventing that from ever happening again. How can we be so confident that this...
11.04.2022
Sound Design Is Ruining Your Music
Sound Design Is Ruining Your Music Have you ever opened your digital audio workstation (DAW) because you’re in the mood to make some music, but then you end up spending hours searching for the right bass sound? Then, feeling frustrated because...
10.20.2022
Stop Looping Melodies This Way
Stop Looping Melodies This Way DOWNLOAD This Tutorial as PDF (includes MIDI file) When you loop a melody, do you just copy and paste it? If so, that way of looping could be ruining your melodies! But the good news is that in...
09.29.2022
Wrong Notes for Better Chord Progressions
Wrong Notes for Better Chord Progressions DOWNLOAD This Tutorial as PDF (includes MIDI file) Can you hear the weakness in this chord progression? It’s a common weakness that you hear in most songs. Did you spot it? If not, here’s the answer: all...
09.07.2022
Gorillaz HACK for Better Bass Lines
How to Write a Bass Line like Gorillaz "New Gold" In the new Gorillaz single “New Gold”, there’s a music theory secret that makes their song feel totally different to the other new releases out this week. That’s what you’ll learn...
09.01.2022
Red Hot Chili Peppers HACK for Better Bass Lines
How to Write a Bass Line like Red Hot Chili Peppers "Tippa My Tongue" In the new Red Hot Chili Peppers single “Tippa My Tongue”, there’s a ridiculously funky variation of the blues scale, which we’re calling the RHCP scale. And...
08.18.2022
Steven Wilson: See Sound, Hear Images
Steven Wilson: See Sound, Hear Images "You imagine something as a guitar part, but then you transpose it to the bass, and it just seems somehow more exotic because of that." –Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree songwriter-producer) WELCOME Hello revolutionary music makers, we are Kate...
08.11.2022
Steven Wilson: Change Your Workflow
Steven Wilson: Change Your Workflow "I’m not thinking like a bass player would. It gives you all of these possibilities as a bass player to play melodies, riffs, chords." –Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree songwriter-producer) WELCOME Hello revolutionary music makers, we are Kate and...
08.04.2022
Steven Wilson: Biggest Metal Guitar Mistake
Steven Wilson: Biggest Metal Guitar Mistake "It's all played on telecaster with an almost clean tone, and to me, it sounds heavier than if I'd played it with a whole bunch of overdrive." –Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree) WELCOME Hello revolutionary music makers, we...
07.28.2022
Steven Wilson: How to Be Creative
Steven Wilson: How to Be Creative "An amateur is someone who does something because they love to do it. So, professionalism is sometimes not a good thing." –Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree) WELCOME Hello revolutionary music makers, we are Kate and Ray Harmony (AKA...
07.21.2022
Steven Wilson: Song Structure SECRET
Steven Wilson: Song Structure SECRET "I love that idea of the callback to the intro. Making sense of the fact there is this intro, by using it as the basis not for the main song (not for the verse, not for...
07.14.2022
Steven Wilson: Common Songwriting Mistake
Steven Wilson: Common Songwriting Mistake “Nowadays, with so much music being written on the computer, we’ve lost that natural push and pull that an ensemble and a band will have if they’re playing outside of a tempo map. A lot of...
07.07.2022
Steven Wilson: The Songwriting Process
Steven Wilson: The Songwriting Process "For me, writing music is like standing in front of a brick wall. You go to that brick wall, and you start to hit your head against the wall. And after about an hour, you stand...
07.05.2022
Steven Wilson on SHRED GUITAR: "That's Not Music."
Steven Wilson on SHRED GUITAR "I'm not a fan of the whole 'guitar shredder' phenomenon. I love that people can play like that, but the fact is they feel the need to remind everyone they can play like that constantly. To...
06.30.2022
Steven Wilson: Don't Structure Songs Like This
Steven Wilson: Don't Structure Songs Like This "One of the hallmarks of so-called progressive rock is that it doesn't conform to the conventional way that tracks normally would unfold. A piece of progressive rock can go in very unpredictable directions, in...
06.23.2022
Steven Wilson: Make Music Like This
Steven Wilson: Make Music Like This "Accentuate the things in what you do that are unusual, and that a big record company guy would probably tell you you shouldn’t be doing!" –Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree) WELCOME Hello revolutionary music makers, we are Kate...
06.16.2022
Orchestrate Drum Patterns for Better Beats
Orchestrate Drum Patterns for Better Beats Beginner beats usually use only three elements of the drum kit. So, in this lesson you'll learn how to make pro beats by voicing them over the whole kit. But first... Tea! INTRO Hello revolutionary music makers,...
06.02.2022
How to Make Polymetric Beats
How to Make Polymetric Beats DOWNLOAD This Tutorial as PDF (includes MIDI file) In this tutorial you’ll learn a 3-step hack for making polymetric drum beats. We invite you to work along with us through the following steps, so by the end...
05.25.2022
Odd-Time Hack for Better Beats
Odd-Time Hack for Better Beats In this lesson you'll learn how to use odd time signatures, but without them sounding odd. But first… Tea! Hello revolutionary music makers, we are Kate and Ray Harmony (AKA Revolution Harmony), and welcome to Hack Music...
05.12.2022
Bass Contour Rule
Bass Contour Rule Learn how to write better bass lines by creating melodic contours with 3rds and non-harmonic notes. But first… Tea! INTRO Hello revolutionary music makers, we are Kate and Ray Harmony (AKA Revolution Harmony), and welcome to Hack Music Theory, the...
04.29.2022
Melody Interval Rule
Melody Interval Rule In this lesson you’ll learn a common fault that many songwriters and producers make when writing melodies. More importantly, though, you’ll learn our theory hack for quickly and easily fixing this fault. But first… Tea! Hello revolutionary music makers,...
04.22.2022
Frustrated Music Producer? This Is For You!
Frustrated Music Producer? This Is For You! Music is an art, so technically there can’t be any mistakes. But, and it’s a big but, there can definitely be faults, as faults are weaknesses. And unfortunately, when songwriters and producers compose by ear,...
04.15.2022
Wrong Notes for Better Bass Lines
Wrong Notes for Better Bass Lines In this lesson you'll learn how to spice up your bass using non-diatonic notes (AKA chromatic notes). But first… Tea! Hello revolutionary music makers, we are Kate and Ray Harmony (AKA Revolution Harmony), and welcome to...
04.08.2022
Better Beats in 1 Second. Seriously!
Better Beats in 1 Second. Seriously! In this lesson you'll learn how to improve your drum beats in one second. Seriously. But first… Tea! Hello revolutionary music makers, we are Kate and Ray Harmony (AKA Revolution Harmony), and welcome to Hack Music...
03.31.2022
Meshuggah Hack for Better Djent Riffs
Meshuggah Hack for Better Djent Riffs In this lesson you'll learn how to improve your Djent riffs using a hack from Meshuggah "I Am That Thirst", which is off their new album "Immutable". But first… Tea! Hello revolutionary music makers, we are...
03.25.2022
How to Add Energy to Bass Lines
How to Add Energy to Bass Lines In this lesson you'll learn how to write better bass lines, by using 1/16 rests. But first… Tea! Hello revolutionary music makers, we are Kate and Ray Harmony (AKA Revolution Harmony), and welcome to Hack...
03.23.2022
Harmonic Rhythm for Better Bass Lines
Harmonic Rhythm for Better Bass Learn how to write better bass lines by improving your harmonic rhythm! Hello revolutionary music makers, we are Kate and Ray Harmony (AKA Revolution Harmony), and welcome to Hack Music Theory, the fast, easy and fun way...
03.17.2022
How to Make Better Dance Beats
How to Make Better Dance Beats In this lesson you'll learn how to improve your four-on-the-floor drum beats. But first… Tea! Hello revolutionary music makers, we are Kate and Ray Harmony (AKA Revolution Harmony), and welcome to Hack Music Theory, the fast,...
03.03.2022
Chord Flow Rule
Chord Flow Rule DOWNLOAD This Tutorial as PDF (includes MIDI file) In this lesson you’ll learn a common fault that many songwriters and producers make when writing chord progressions. More importantly, though, you’ll learn our theory hack for quickly and easily fixing...
01.13.2022
Melody Range Rule
Melody Range Rule In this lesson you’ll learn a common fault that many songwriters and producers make when writing melodies. More importantly, though, you’ll learn our theory hack for quickly and easily fixing this fault. But first… Tea! Hello revolutionary music makers,...
12.01.2021
Pro Drum Fills in 4 Steps
Drum Fills in 4 Steps In this lesson you’ll learn our 4-step method for making better drum fills. We invite you to work along with us through these steps, so by the end of this lesson, you’ll also have a super...
10.15.2021
3 Types of Drum Fills
3 Types of Drum Fills In this lesson you’ll learn the three types of drum fills, where to use them, and how to make them. But first... Tea! Hello revolutionary music makers, we are Kate and Ray Harmony (AKA Revolution Harmony), and...
09.01.2021
4-Step Hack for Dark Bass Lines
4-Step Hack for Dark Bass Lines In this lesson you’ll learn a simple 4-step hack for writing dark and dissonant bass lines. We invite you to work along with us through the following steps, so by the end of this lesson,...
07.01.2021
#1 Melody Hack
#1 Melody Hack Learn how to make better melodies with this game-changing hack! Hello revolutionary music makers, we are Kate and Ray Harmony (AKA Revolution Harmony), and welcome to Hack Music Theory, the fast, easy and fun way to make music! If...
05.27.2021
Counter Melody Rule
Counter Melody Rule Learn how to avoid this common fault many songwriters & producers make in their backing melodies! Hello revolutionary music makers, we are Kate and Ray Harmony (AKA Revolution Harmony), and welcome to Hack Music Theory, the fast, easy and...

What's Hack Music Theory about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Hack Music Theory episodes:

How to Write Better Snare Drum Rhythms • Music Theory from Matt Sassari & Tony Romera "Snare Thing"

How to Write Heavy BASS Lines • Music Theory from Front Line Assembly "Purge"

How to Write Advanced DRUMS • Music Theory from Royal Blood "Mountains at Midnight"

How to Write Locrian BASS Lines • Music Theory from Rezz "Suffer in Silence"

How to Write Beautiful CHORDS • Music Theory from Sleep Token "Take Me Back to Eden"

How to Write a BASS Line with Harmony • Music Theory from GoGo Penguin "Everything Is Going to Be OK"

How to Write a Standout MELODY • Music Theory from PJ Harvey "A Child's Question, August"

How to Write a Locrian RIFF • Music Theory from Metallica "72 Seasons"

How to Write a Catchy MELODY • Music Theory from Beastie Boys "Sure Shot"

How to Write Energetic BASS Lines • Music Theory from The Chemical Brothers "No Reason"

How to Write a Lydian MELODY • Music Theory from Depeche Mode "Ghosts Again"

How to Write Polymeter DRUMS • Music Theory from Periphery "Atropos"

How to Write a Layered RIFF • Music Theory from Polyphia "Ego Death"

Drum Secrets of Hip-Hop Legends

Genre Project 2023

Why You Struggle to Make Music

Sound Design Is Ruining Your Music

Stop Looping Melodies This Way

Wrong Notes for Better Chord Progressions

Gorillaz HACK for Better Bass Lines

Red Hot Chili Peppers HACK for Better Bass Lines

Steven Wilson: See Sound, Hear Images

Steven Wilson: Change Your Workflow

Steven Wilson: Biggest Metal Guitar Mistake

Steven Wilson: How to Be Creative

Steven Wilson: Song Structure SECRET

Steven Wilson: Common Songwriting Mistake

Steven Wilson: The Songwriting Process

Steven Wilson on SHRED GUITAR: "That's Not Music."

Steven Wilson: Don't Structure Songs Like This

Steven Wilson: Make Music Like This

Orchestrate Drum Patterns for Better Beats

How to Make Polymetric Beats

Odd-Time Hack for Better Beats

Bass Contour Rule

Melody Interval Rule

Frustrated Music Producer? This Is For You!

Wrong Notes for Better Bass Lines

Better Beats in 1 Second. Seriously!

Meshuggah Hack for Better Djent Riffs

How to Add Energy to Bass Lines

Harmonic Rhythm for Better Bass Lines

How to Make Better Dance Beats

Chord Flow Rule

Melody Range Rule

Pro Drum Fills in 4 Steps

3 Types of Drum Fills

4-Step Hack for Dark Bass Lines

#1 Melody Hack

Counter Melody Rule