Lyrics are little Derren Brown’s in your brain.

Do we have free will? That ancient question actually misses the point, because the concept of free will implies that we’re free to act on our desires. Okay. That’s fine. But where do our desires come from? That’s the real question!

For example, if you get home from work and you’re trying to decide whether to go for a run or lie down on the couch. The concept of free will says that you have the freedom to choose. But whichever choice you make, underneath that decision is a desire. In this example, it’s the desire to be healthy versus the desire to relax. The strongest desire wins. Always. Because, whatever you end up doing, the desire to do that was obviously stronger than the desire not to. Otherwise you wouldn’t have done it.

Think about it. Let’s say you decide to lie down on the couch, but then after 10 minutes of chilling you start feeling guilty. You wriggle around for a few minutes, and then muttering some distasteful words to yourself, you get up, put on your running shoes, and head out the door. It was the desire to be healthy that ended up overpowering the desire to relax, despite the fact that you would have preferred to be chilling on the couch. But clearly, if the desire to chill was stronger, you’d still be on the couch. So, the free will debate is pointless. Desire is the real issue here.

And that’s where things get interesting. Very interesting. You’ve probably seen videos of Derren Brown, right? He can get people to do anything, literally. The scariest thing, though, is that he never makes them do it. They use their free will and choose to do the most horrific things. Of course, they don’t actually do them in real life, it’s all a set-up for the TV show. However, the people genuinely believe they’re doing these things. And more importantly, they believe it was their own conscious choice. But we, the viewers, know better.

Derren Brown’s method is simple, yet extremely effective. All he does is implant a desire into people’s minds. That’s it. Then he stands back and lets free will do its thing. Derren Brown perfectly demonstrates how easy mind control is. And whoever controls the people’s desires, controls their thoughts and their actions, and therefore, their life. What do we think of free will now?

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We’ve seen this playout in the real world over the last few years. Seemingly “normal” people say and do crazy things nowadays! But they’re saying and doing them because of the social media, TV, movies, and music they’re letting into their minds every day. That’s what is programming their desires. Even the desire to allow that pollution into their minds in the first place has been programmed. For example, does scrolling on social media make people happier? No, obviously not. So why do they do it? Because they’ve been programmed with the desire to scroll.

I know this is true, because I deleted all my social media accounts over 10 years ago, and ever since, I’ve had absolutely no desire to scroll. In fact, I have no desire to reach for my phone at all, because I don’t have any apps on it other than Spotify. My phone is a telephone and a music player combined. Nothing more.

And while it’s far more difficult to control the desires of people who are not on social media and don’t watch TV shows or movies, it is still possible. And that brings me to the point of this essay. Music is arguably the most powerful mind control there is. Yes, even more powerful than Derren Brown.

You see, song lyrics find their way directly into our unconscious mind through an unguarded backdoor. That’s because music manipulates our emotions, which gives our critical thinking mind a break. We’re feeling creatures, so feelings always win our attention. It feels so good to just feel. It’s like a mini-holiday from thinking. And we all need these breaks on a daily basis. They’re a positive thing, when the music causing the emotion is positive. But when it’s not, that’s dangerous territory!

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In my last essay, titled This Is the Only Pure Music, I sang the praises of absolute music, which is instrumental music but without any conceptual ideas attached to it. Not even song titles. Check out that essay for more on the benefits of listening to absolute music, and the benefits of making it too. For now, though, it’s worth noting that listening exclusively to absolute music is the easiest way to avoid being brainwashed by lyrics. No lyrics, no problem.

But as always, reality is nuanced, and there’s a positive side to mind control. The best example of this is hypnotism. To witness exactly how positive the effects of this can be, watch some videos on the brilliant hypnotist Paul McKenna’s official YouTube channel. I highly recommend reading his books, too. They’re life-changing. So while Derren Brown is waking us up to the dangers of mind control, Paul McKenna is inspiring us to use its healing powers.

Mind control is a neutral technique, which can be used for good or for bad. So, if there’s an artist who writes positive and loving lyrics, then by all means, let them program your mind. Remember, though, all lyrics that find their way into your ears will program your mind. There’s no way around this.

You’ve only got two choices: Avoid lyrics completely (by listening to absolute music), or consciously select songs with lyrics that align with the future you want to create for yourself and the world. Choosing the lyric option requires research, though, so unless you’re willing to do that, stick with absolute music.

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On that note. If you’re feeling inspired to write your own songs with positive lyrics, but you need some help, please don’t turn to AI. The world does not need any more soulless AI lyrics. The world needs your unique soul to express itself through words from your unique mind. So if you need help writing lyrics yourself, then read my Songwriting & Producing PDF. It contains all my techniques for writing great lyrics, as well as melodies, harmonies, chords, bass lines, and more.

And if you’re not writing songs yet, but you want to learn how, then read my free 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. Once you’ve worked your way through that, then you’ll be ready to read the Songwriting & Producing PDF and to begin your musical journey.

Lastly, I don’t paywall any of these essays, as I don’t want to exclude anyone. So if you can spare a few bucks, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. It’s only about the cost of one coffee per month for you, but if enough people join, then I can pay the rent and keep helping you every week. So if you enjoy my work and want me to keep doing this, please support me by heading over to HackMusicTheory.com/Join.

A heartfelt thank-you for being here. And welcome aboard the 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.

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 founder of Hack Music Theory, a YouTube channel with over 10 million views and 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 cottonbro studio

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

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