Odd Time Signatures

That Aren’t Odd.

Rare Rhythms That Move People.

American band Death Cab for Cutie recently released their new album “I Built You a Tower”, and the song “Stone Over Water” is a brilliant example of how…

How to Write a
Catchy Melody.

Free PDF Tutorial
includes multitrack MIDI file

If the link above does not work, paste this into your browser:
https://hackmusictheory.com/album/2877864/catchy-melody

Intro.

British band Glass Animals are absolutely massive! At the time of…

How to Write
Sweeping Arpeggios.

Free PDF Tutorial
includes multitrack MIDI file

If the link above does not work, paste this into your browser:
https://hackmusictheory.com/album/2639559/sweeping-arpeggios

Intro.

Do your arpeggios all sound rather similar? It’s a common problem for…

How to Write Heavy BASS Lines

Step 1. Syncopated Octaves

Set 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…

How to Write Advanced DRUMS

Step 1. Pattern

Set 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…

How to Write Locrian BASS Lines

Step 1. Basic

Set 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…

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…

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…

How to Write a Standout MELODY

Step 1. First Impressions

There 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…

How to Write a Locrian RIFF

FREE: Download This Tutorial as PDF
Includes multitrack MIDI example

Step 1. Octaves

Set your grid to 1/16 notes and your tempo to 97 BPM. You’re gonna start by writing a creative pattern using…

How to Write a Catchy MELODY

FREE: Download This Tutorial as PDF

Includes multitrack MIDI example

Step 1. Scale

There are two types of catchy melodies: annoyingly repetitive ones you can’t stop singing but actually hate, and awesome ones that…

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…

How to Write a Lydian MELODY

FREE: Download This Tutorial as PDF

Includes 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 …

How to Write Polymeter DRUMS

Step 1. Kick in 7

The 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…

How to Write a Layered Guitar RIFF

Step 1. Bass

The 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…

Drum Secrets of Hip-Hop Legends

DOWNLOAD This Tutorial as PDF

Includes 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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…