Hack Music Theory

  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 album of the year and what I loved about it. As you would have noticed from the title, though, it grew into something entirely different. Why? Well, according to Spotify’s Wrapped analytics, my favourite artist of 2025 (who I listened to for 5,495 minutes) has been dead for 275 years. Yep! The genius of geniuses J.S. Bach is my favourite artist of the year. In fact, Spotify tells me I’m a top 0.07% global fan of Bach. That’s my new claim to fame! And my favourite Bach pieces of 2025 are the Goldberg Variations, which were published in 1741. So my favourite music of this year is almost 300 years old. My favourite recording of this masterpiece is by Trevor Pinnock and the Royal Academy of Music Soloists Ensemble. This album is new, but it’s not from 2025 either. It’s five years old. So now you can see why my “Best Album of 2025” essay morphed into this post, which will be a reflection on the state of music. And unsurprisingly, my conclusion is that the best music is old. Very old. But (and it’s a big but), that’s a good thing. Very good. Let me explain why… Subscribe to get the latest posts in your inbox. The great composers of the past, like Bach, reached a level that we can’t comprehend. It’s like the architecture of ancient civilizations, which we can’t even recreate nowadays, let alone surpass. Exactly how this level of genius was achieved is beyond the scope of the present essay, though it is a fascinating question with many fascinating hypotheses. For now, though, it’s enough to simply acknowledge the fact that we can’t reach Bach’s level nowadays, let alone surpass it. “So how’s that a good thing?”, I hear you asking. Well, there are two answers. One from a listener’s perspective. And one from a songwriter’s perspective. For the modern-day listener, who’s being bombarded by hundreds of thousands of new songs uploaded to Spotify and Apple every day, the fact that the best music is behind us should come as a monumental relief! We can all rest assured that nothing new is ever going to come close to the great composers, so we can let go of our FOMO (fear of missing out). By all means, listen to some new music here and there, if you want. I do. And I enjoy a lot of it, too. For example, I’m absolutely loving the new Chronixx album titled “Exile”. But, let’s all continually remind ourselves that while some new music is good and enjoyable, when we compare its level of composition to Bach and the other great composers, it doesn’t come close. Subscribe to get the latest posts in your inbox. In other words, instead of going down the bottomless rabbit-hole of new music, find your favourite handful of Bach albums (or Mozart, or whichever of the great composers resonates most with you), and get to know their music intimately. And we can all do this relaxed in the knowledge that we could not be listening to anything better. On that note, I’d love to know which of the great composers is your favourite, so please let me know in the comments. Also, I don’t paywall any of these essays as I don’t want to exclude anyone. If you’re enjoying this and want me to make more, please support my work by becoming a paid subscriber. It’s only about the cost of one coffee per month, but if enough people join, then I can pay the rent and keep doing this work. To sign up, please visit HackMusicTheory.com/Join. If you can’t afford to at the moment, though, no problem. You can give Hack Music Theory a 5-star rating in your podcast app, that supports my work too. Either way, thank you so much! Right, now back to the topic at hand… In addition to ridding us of the fear of missing out, this minimalist approach to listening (i.e. focusing on the great composers) also decreases the stress and anxiety we feel from trying to keep up with new music. Living in this day and age of infinite music is overwhelming. It’s impossible to keep up, like trying to drink from a firehose. Yet we feel that we should try. The only thing this accomplishes, though, is turning joyful activities (like listening to music) into stressful chores. Subscribe to get the latest posts in your inbox. Now, why is the fact that the best music is in the past a good thing from a songwriter’s perspective? Because, it takes all the pressure off us. Hallelujah! We’ll never be as good as Bach, or Mozart, or any of the other great composers (of which there are hundreds). But nobody else will be as good as them either. None of us will even come close to their level. So there’s no competition. What a monumental relief, right? In this extremely competitive world we’re living in, it’s liberating to know that this competition is closed. The winner has been announced. It’s over. So, we can all let go of our competitive tendencies, and just make music for the sheer joy of it. What a wonderful gift Bach and Mozart and all the other great composers have given us. And it gets even better than that. There’s also a never-ending list of health benefits we get from making music. If you’re interested in learning more about that, check out my essay titled Making Music is Hard. Why Bother?. Subscribe to get the latest posts in your inbox. And if you’re ready to begin your musical journey, you can start right now by reading 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. Next, you can take my Songwriting & Producing “crash course”. It’s only 1-hour long, and consists of 12 short videos. You’ll learn how to write great lead melodies, backing melodies, chord progressions, bass lines, drum beats, vocals and lyrics. It also includes my bestselling Songwriting & Producing PDF and my Hack Music Theory, Part 1 eBook. 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 :)         Donate. Help keep the Songwriter's Ark afloat.     Photo by Mart Production         About.     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!   Portrait of J.S. Bach (1746) by Elias Gottlob Haussmann       Outro music by Ray Harmony, based on the music theory from GoGo Penguin "Everything Is Going to Be OK".         Podcast. Listen below, or on any podcast app.

  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 album of the year and what I loved about it. As you would have noticed from the title, though, it grew into something entirely different. Why? Well, according to Spotify’s Wrapped analytics, my favourite artist of 2025 (who I listened to for 5,495 minutes) has been dead for 275 years. Yep! The genius of geniuses J.S. Bach is my favourite artist of the year. In fact, Spotify tells me I’m a top 0.07% global fan of Bach. That’s my new claim to fame! And my favourite Bach pieces of 2025 are the Goldberg Variations, which were published in 1741. So my favourite music of this year is almost 300 years old. My favourite recording of this masterpiece is by Trevor Pinnock and the Royal Academy of Music Soloists Ensemble. This album is new, but it’s not from 2025 either. It’s five years old. So now you can see why my “Best Album of 2025” essay morphed into this post, which will be a reflection on the state of music. And unsurprisingly, my conclusion is that the best music is old. Very old. But (and it’s a big but), that’s a good thing. Very good. Let me explain why… Subscribe to get the latest posts in your inbox. The great composers of the past, like Bach, reached a level that we can’t comprehend. It’s like the architecture of ancient civilizations, which we can’t even recreate nowadays, let alone surpass. Exactly how this level of genius was achieved is beyond the scope of the present essay, though it is a fascinating question with many fascinating hypotheses. For now, though, it’s enough to simply acknowledge the fact that we can’t reach Bach’s level nowadays, let alone surpass it. “So how’s that a good thing?”, I hear you asking. Well, there are two answers. One from a listener’s perspective. And one from a songwriter’s perspective. For the modern-day listener, who’s being bombarded by hundreds of thousands of new songs uploaded to Spotify and Apple every day, the fact that the best music is behind us should come as a monumental relief! We can all rest assured that nothing new is ever going to come close to the great composers, so we can let go of our FOMO (fear of missing out). By all means, listen to some new music here and there, if you want. I do. And I enjoy a lot of it, too. For example, I’m absolutely loving the new Chronixx album titled “Exile”. But, let’s all continually remind ourselves that while some new music is good and enjoyable, when we compare its level of composition to Bach and the other great composers, it doesn’t come close. Subscribe to get the latest posts in your inbox. In other words, instead of going down the bottomless rabbit-hole of new music, find your favourite handful of Bach albums (or Mozart, or whichever of the great composers resonates most with you), and get to know their music intimately. And we can all do this relaxed in the knowledge that we could not be listening to anything better. On that note, I’d love to know which of the great composers is your favourite, so please let me know in the comments. Also, I don’t paywall any of these essays as I don’t want to exclude anyone. If you’re enjoying this and want me to make more, please support my work by becoming a paid subscriber. It’s only about the cost of one coffee per month, but if enough people join, then I can pay the rent and keep doing this work. To sign up, please visit HackMusicTheory.com/Join. If you can’t afford to at the moment, though, no problem. You can give Hack Music Theory a 5-star rating in your podcast app, that supports my work too. Either way, thank you so much! Right, now back to the topic at hand… In addition to ridding us of the fear of missing out, this minimalist approach to listening (i.e. focusing on the great composers) also decreases the stress and anxiety we feel from trying to keep up with new music. Living in this day and age of infinite music is overwhelming. It’s impossible to keep up, like trying to drink from a firehose. Yet we feel that we should try. The only thing this accomplishes, though, is turning joyful activities (like listening to music) into stressful chores. Subscribe to get the latest posts in your inbox. Now, why is the fact that the best music is in the past a good thing from a songwriter’s perspective? Because, it takes all the pressure off us. Hallelujah! We’ll never be as good as Bach, or Mozart, or any of the other great composers (of which there are hundreds). But nobody else will be as good as them either. None of us will even come close to their level. So there’s no competition. What a monumental relief, right? In this extremely competitive world we’re living in, it’s liberating to know that this competition is closed. The winner has been announced. It’s over. So, we can all let go of our competitive tendencies, and just make music for the sheer joy of it. What a wonderful gift Bach and Mozart and all the other great composers have given us. And it gets even better than that. There’s also a never-ending list of health benefits we get from making music. If you’re interested in learning more about that, check out my essay titled Making Music is Hard. Why Bother?. Subscribe to get the latest posts in your inbox. And if you’re ready to begin your musical journey, you can start right now by reading 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. Next, you can take my Songwriting & Producing “crash course”. It’s only 1-hour long, and consists of 12 short videos. You’ll learn how to write great lead melodies, backing melodies, chord progressions, bass lines, drum beats, vocals and lyrics. It also includes my bestselling Songwriting & Producing PDF and my Hack Music Theory, Part 1 eBook. 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 :)         Donate. Help keep the Songwriter's Ark afloat.     Photo by Mart Production         About.     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!   Portrait of J.S. Bach (1746) by Elias Gottlob Haussmann       Outro music by Ray Harmony, based on the music theory from GoGo Penguin "Everything Is Going to Be OK".         Podcast. Listen below, or on any podcast app.

  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. Regardless of whether that’s true or not, it’s worth paying attention to these five-note scales because of their unique consonance. You see, they contain two fewer notes than the scales we’re used to hearing, so they have a spaciousness that no other scales have. It’s that characteristic which makes pentatonic scales sound so peaceful. Those two extra notes we use in seven-note scales create semitone intervals, which cause tension. But it’s precisely those tense semitones that add the excitement, which we love. So as you can see, there are pros and cons to both. Five-note scales are peaceful, but lack excitement. Seven-note scales are exciting, but lack peace. And by the way, if intervals are new to you, read my free book to learn all the basics. What got me thinking about this topic is a brilliant book that I just finished reading. It’s called The Geography of Thought: How Asians and Westerners Think Differently... and Why by the psychologist Dr Richard E. Nisbett. It’s one of the most insightful books I’ve ever read. It’s full of fascinating psychological studies jointly conducted by American and Chinese researchers. The results are extremely nuanced, obviously, but I’ll oversimplify them here for the purpose of brevity. The “eastern” mind is built on a cultural foundation of collectivism, which originated in Confucianism. The “western” mind is built on a cultural foundation of individualism, which originated in Ancient Greek philosophy. Over the last two and a half thousand years, these two geographical areas developed vastly different mindsets, which in turn created vastly different societies. Before I continue, though. It’s vital to acknowledge that both mindsets have pros and cons. The book is crystal clear on that, as well as what those pros and cons are. That’s why you should read the book for yourself. Subscribe to get the latest posts in your inbox. Now, when it comes to the music that these two different mindsets invented, things get even more interesting. In the west, our music has traditionally been more complex. The scales have more notes, and therefore more tension. Western musicians also invented counterpoint, where individual melodies are played simultaneously. While these layered melodies create harmony, which is beautiful, they also create tension. How perfectly does that reflect western individualism? And in the east, their music has traditionally been simpler. The scales are pentatonic, so they have fewer notes, and therefore less tension. Not only that, but they don’t layer melodies either, as that would create competition between them. If two musicians play together, they play the same melody, or very similar melodies. How perfectly does that reflect eastern collectivism? You can think of these two different approaches in terms of a choir. In the east, they would all sing the same (or similar) pentatonic melody. In the west, the choir would be divided up into different ranges, and each group would sing a different melody. For a breathtakingly beautiful example of this, listen to the Renaissance composer, Palestrina. And for an equally beautiful example of the eastern mind’s music, listen to the album Emerging Lotus by the pipa player, Liu Fang. Subscribe to get the latest posts in your inbox. In these stressful times we’re living in, I invite you to find peace in pentatonic places by making music using the major or minor pentatonic scales. For the major, if you begin on C as your root, the scale is C, D, E, G, and A. For the minor, if you begin on A as your root, the scale is A, C, D, E, and G. As soon as you start playing around with these pentatonic scales, you’ll feel in your body exactly how peaceful they are. And for extra peace, keep your song instrumental. If you want to know why, check out my previous essay titled This Is The Only Pure Music.  And if you’re not making music yet, then you can begin your journey right now by reading 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. And if you’re already making music but wanna improve, then I’ve got 30 free PDF tutorials for you. They’re step-by-step musical “recipes” that you can follow to instantly make better music. Lastly, I don’t paywall any of these essays. I don’t want to exclude anyone. But if you enjoy my work and want me to keep doing this, please support me by heading over to HackMusicTheory.com/Join. Becoming a paid subscriber is 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. 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 :)         Donate. Help keep the Songwriter's Ark afloat.     Photo by Mart Production         About.     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 SAM LIM       Outro music by Ray Harmony, based on the music theory from GoGo Penguin "Everything Is Going to Be OK".         Podcast. Listen below, or on any podcast app.

  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 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? Subscribe to get the latest posts in your inbox. 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! Subscribe to get the latest posts in your inbox.  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. Subscribe to get the latest posts in your inbox. 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 :)        Donate. Help keep the Songwriter's Ark afloat.     Photo by Mart Production         About.     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".         Podcast. Listen below, or on any podcast app.

  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 us. I’ve personally experienced its uniting effects, though, so I know what’s possible. You see, I was born and raised in apartheid South Africa. I lived there until 1999, leaving a few months after Mandela’s presidency ended. I loved Mandela, and he probably did everything in his power to unite the country. However, the story you don’t often hear is that musicians were more successful in bringing the people together. Two of these musical heroes were Lucky Dube and Johnny Clegg. Their crossover appeal resulted in audiences that consisted of fans who would never have come together under any other circumstances. It was magical! That’s the power of music. But it wasn’t only their music that united the previously divided nation, it was their lyrics too. While they didn’t sugarcoat the situation, they did choose to focus on a positive future vision where South Africans were united. As a result, their songs created that more united country they had envisioned. Now, when I listen to the new releases on Spotify every Friday, I don’t hear much in the way of positive lyrics that were written to unite people. In fact, it’s rather obvious that most lyrics were written with the exact opposite intention. But as Thumper said: “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say nothing at all.” The legendary rabbit uttered that wisdom over 80 years ago. It’s time we start living by this rabbit wisdom, which is why I’m sharing my musical method for doing this. Subscribe to get the latest posts in your inbox. In the celebrity culture we live in, most music has vocals because popular music tends to be all about the vocalists. They’re the stars. They’re the main attractions. It’s not about the song, it’s about the celebrity singing it. That is wrong for so many reasons, but that’s a topic for another essay. What concerns us here is something I called “pure music” in the title, but the formal term is “absolute music”. What is absolute music? It’s instrumental music, but at its purest. What do I mean by purest? Music that is presented without any preconceived concepts. In other words, music without a conceptual title. Arguably the best example of this is Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor. Beethoven composed this as absolute music. The listener could enjoy it with no preconceived ideas about what the music represented. Their imagination could conjure up whatever images it wanted. However, after Beethoven’s death, this sonata was given a nickname by a music critic. And for almost 200 years now, this breathtakingly beautiful piano piece has been painting pictures of moonlight in its listeners’ minds. How could it not? It is after all the Moonlight Sonata. But, what did listeners imagine before it was given that nickname? We’ll never know. We only know what one man imagined. This piece perfectly highlights the power of words. Even one word. And with that one word, every listener ever since has been primed to imagine moonlight when the piece is played. Words are powerful. Words shape our reality. Subscribe to get the latest posts in your inbox. And that brings me to my main point. Songs convey their songwriters’ worldviews, but it’s precisely our differing worldviews that divide us nowadays. Up until a few years ago, it was perfectly normal to be friends with people who had different worldviews. In fact, that’s what used to make friendships interesting. Who wants to hang out with another version of themself? No thank you! I want open-minded friends who are totally different from me, with totally different worldviews from mine. That makes for fascinating conversations. Thanks to social media, though, the masses have been programmed into thinking that we need to surround ourselves with people who believe exactly the same things we believe. These online echo chambers fuel narrow-mindedness and intolerance. While I deleted all my social media accounts over 10 years ago, I know it’s futile trying to convince people to do the same. It’s by far the best solution, but another good solution is this: Stop listening to music with lyrics, and start listening to absolute music instead. And if you’re a songwriter, I encourage you to live by that rabbit wisdom: “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say nothing at all.” I appreciate that lyrics can be an outlet for expressing our disapproval at the “other side”. But there are better ways to do that, which don’t harm others (like journaling, for example). And until we realize that this ancient idea of the “other side” was invented by empires as a method for dividing and conquering the people, it’s best if we hold our tongues and say nothing at all. And yes, as songwriters, holding our tongues means writing absolute music. But hey, as a consolation, this will save you countless days of your life, because writing lyrics and recording vocals is extremely time-consuming. And with regards to the music we listen to, if our audio diet exclusively contains absolute music, our minds and hearts will be healthier, kinder, and more tolerant. Everybody wins. Subscribe to get the latest posts in your inbox. Finally, when it comes to finding absolute music to listen to, that’s easy in the classical genres, but there’s not much of it in the popular genres. Here’s a hack that I use to solve this problem. When I find an instrumental album that I enjoy, I don’t read the titles of the tracks. For example, I love Bonobo, so I don’t pay any attention to the song titles, and I exclude the few tracks on each album with vocals. Also, on Spotify (and probably all the other platforms too) there are instrumental playlists in most popular music genres. These are great places for discovering artists who make instrumental music. And if you have any recommendations for artists making great instrumental music, please leave them in the comments so everyone can check them out. Sadly, there are not many absolute artists, so we need to support them. And hopefully this essay has inspired you to join their mission, too. On that note. If you’re interested in learning songwriting (or improving your skills) but you don’t want to spend loads of time doing it, then I invite you to visit our website and help yourself to the many free downloads. If you’re a beginner, start with 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. And if you’re intermediate or advanced, download the Free PDF tutorials. They’re step-by-step musical “recipes” that you can follow to make better music. If you’re ready to go deeper, though, then I invite you to enroll in my online apprenticeship course, where you’ll learn one method to write unlimited songs in any genre. This method guides you through every step of the music making process, from blank screen to finished song. And 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’d like to see my work continue, head on 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 :)        Donate. Help keep the Songwriter's Ark afloat.     Photo by Mart Production         About.     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 Pavel Danilyuk       Outro music by Ray Harmony, based on the music theory from GoGo Penguin "Everything Is Going to Be OK".         Podcast. Listen below, or on any podcast app.