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 extra-ocular vision? If you haven’t come across this jaw-dropping phenomenon where blind (or blind-folded) people can see, look it up, and be prepared to have your worldview flipped. If you don’t know where to start, I recommend the work of theoretical physicist Dr. Àlex Gómez-Marín.

Clearly the mainstream scientific explanation of how we see is sorely in need of an update. I suggest the same is true for hearing. And I appreciate that this topic is challenging for my materialist friends, but I invite you to research the scientific community’s dirty little secret, known as the replication crisis. This will open your eyes to the possibility that there’s more going on than we’ve been led to believe.

My current working hypothesis for how we hear is something like this. When music is created, it’s stored in what I call God’s great library in the sky. You might call this the quantum field, if you’re scientifically-minded. Or the collective unconscious, if you’re psychologically-minded. Or the Akashic records, if you’re spiritually-minded. Whatever you call it, though, I believe it’s where human creations are eternally stored.

When we hear music, its true source is the great sky library. And yes, most of the time this hearing is done through our ears. They sense vibrations in the air and transfer that information to our brain, where it’s transformed into music. But, that physical process can’t explain how it’s possible to hear music that isn’t there. For example, when people hear music during near-death experiences. Or when artists hear music in their dreams, which doesn’t exist in this world (yet), and then they wake up and record it. This brings the song into existence, which is how it ended up in God’s library in the first place.

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There’s many examples of songs that came to artists in this way. The most famous is probably “Yesterday” by The Beatles. Paul McCartney tells the story of how he woke up with that tune in his head, and couldn’t stop singing it throughout the day. He assumed it was a song he’d heard somewhere, so he kept singing it to people and asking them what song it was. But nobody recognized it. Eventually he realised that it wasn’t anyone else’s song, and excitedly got to work recording it. If my hypothesis is correct, what happened here is that Paul McCartney entered God’s sky library in his dreams and heard his own song from the future.

The reason that’s possible is because this great library in the sky (aka the quantum field, or whatever you want to call it) is fundamental reality. Space and time emerge out of this foundational field. Therefore, all human creations from the past and the future already exist there. If we can enter God’s library, we can hear our unwritten songs from the future. We can then record them here and now, which in turn secures their place in the future. It’s a magical loophole. So, how do we enter God’s great sky library? Shhh... That’s how we enter. Silence. We enter by listening.

Even if this whole hypothesis is completely and utterly false, it’s life-changingly useful. Seriously. As artists, we have big imaginations. So let’s imagine that our unwritten songs already exist in the quantum field. Our role is simply to attract them into our consciousness, and record them so other people can hear them, too.

This removes all stress and anxiety from songwriting. Making music is no longer a painful birthing process, it’s now an exciting journey of discovery. It’s like going on vacation to a beautiful place you’ve never visited. You’re not worried about finding it. You’re not worried about travelling for ages only to realise the destination doesn’t exist. That’s because there’s no such thing as “destination block”. If you’re driving, you just follow the map. Or if you’re taking a bus, train or plane, you just get onboard and relax, or even go to sleep. Your destination will find you!

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Same with music. We can learn how to let our unwritten songs from the future find us. I call this song-whispering. I teach my method for doing this in my online apprenticeship course, but you can come up with your own way of doing it, too. It’s paradigm-shifting, and will forever change your relationship with songwriting. When you surrender to the knowledge that all your unwritten songs already exist in the field, you instantly feel a deep sense of calm and confidence. Also, you’ll begin to thoroughly enjoy the process of fishing for your future music in the quantum field!

Lastly, if you’re new to making music (or if you want a refresher), I offer you a free download of my book 12 Music Theory Hacks to Learn Scales & Chords. It only takes about half an hour to read, then you’ll have a solid foundation of the basics. Understanding the language of music (aka music theory) is vital in becoming a fisher of future music. In order to write down and record the songs you’ll receive from the field, you need to speak the language of music.

Happy learning, and welcome aboard the Songwriter’s Ark*.

Ray Harmony :)

*I visualize Hack Music Theory as a Songwriter’s Ark, where all the music making skills are being preserved through this global AI flood. The flood shall pass. The skills will last.

Help keep the Songwriter's Ark afloat.

Photo by Mart Production

Ray Harmony is a multi award-winning music lecturer, who’s made music with Serj Tankian (System Of A Down), Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine), Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree), Devin Townsend (Strapping Young Lad), Ihsahn (Emperor), Kool Keith (Ultramagnetic MCs), Madchild (Swollen Members), and more. Ray is also the co-founder of Hack Music Theory, a YouTube channel with over 250,000 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!

Photo by Michael D Beckwith

Outro music by Ray Harmony, based on the music theory from GoGo Penguin "Everything Is Going to Be OK".

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