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 previously unimagined challenge: convincing people who want to make music that they should learn how to do it.

Never in human history has there been any other option. But now, there are robots that can make “your” music for you. Is it yours if you didn’t write it? No, but the masses embracing AI-generated music don’t seem bothered by that fact.

There are only 12 notes in music, so it’s relatively easy to understand. But making music is not as easy. And making good music is rather hard. That’s because there are infinite ways to combine those 12 notes melodically and harmonically. And then there’s the eternal world of rhythm. Infinity x eternity. That’s a lot of options!

Yet despite the never-ending options, for a beginner songwriter it usually feels like every combination they choose ends up sounding a bit rubbish. Where are all those great combinations hiding? Only years of exploring will begin to reveal them.

Photo by Gerd Altmann

And therein lies the problem. In the good ol’ days before AI, if someone wanted to make music, there was only one option: learn how. But in this brave new world, why bother spending years learning and practising, when you can just get a robot to do it for you? No need for learning, practising, or even patience. A complete beginner can use AI to make a song (and the cover art too), then upload it to Spotify. All before breakfast.

And that brings me back to my new challenge of convincing people that learning how to make good music is worth the effort. That is my new passion. Because, we know from history that it only takes one generation to lose a skill. If humans can’t be convinced that making music is a skill worth preserving, it will be lost forever.

Just another fossil from those less “civilized” people of a bygone era. You know, those poor people who had to walk everywhere, grow their own food, and make their own music. Yeah those people. Wow, sucked to be them! Yes they were much happier and healthier than us, but still, no smart phones? Sucked to be them!

Photo by RDNE Stock project

So, why bother writing your own music? Because the process is what’s valuable, not the end result. The process of expressing ourselves by making music improves our mental health, our spiritual health, and even our physical health. And sharing our music in-person connects us to our fellow humans in a way that nothing else does. If all that’s not enough, how about this: making music is playful and fun! Remember those things? It’s what we used to do before smart phones were invented.

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There’s one caveat, though. It’s only fun if you know how to do it. If you don’t, then it’s frustrating. And I suspect that’s the main reason why people are turning to AI. But AI is not the solution. The solution is learning and practising. And the more you learn and practice, the more fun the songwriting process becomes.

It’s like exercising. When we first start, it’s horrible. Our muscles burn, our lungs burn, and every fibre of our being shouts “STOP!” Sadly, most people do. But for the ones who persevere, something magical happens. Each week the burning gets less, and the shouting gets softer. Then one day right in the middle of an exercise session, we suddenly realize our inner voice is shouting: “GO! GO! GO!” It usually takes a few months to break through that barrier, but when we do, the fun makes it all worthwhile.

Photo by Barbara Olsen

I want you to enjoy that post-breakthrough fun with your music. There’s no better feeling. But it requires trust. And I’m not asking you to trust me. I’m asking you to trust yourself, and to trust the journey. Until you reach that breakthrough, it’s hard. But if you give up before then, you’ll never reap the health rewards. And you’ll miss out on a ton of fun, too!

With this new challenge in mind, I’m now visualizing 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.

So, if you’re feeling inspired to get onboard, I recommend reading my free book 12 Music Theory Hacks to Learn Scales & Chords. And if you’re already making music but it’s not as good as you’d like, I recommend my online apprenticeship course.

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

Ray Harmony :)

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 Wout Nes

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

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