About

Kate & Ray Harmony (AKA Revolution Harmony). A married couple of music teachers in Canada.

Most music is boring!

Why? Because music education focuses on classical and jazz. As those genres are irrelevant to most songwriters and producers, though, they're not inspired to study music and instead choose to compose by ear.

However, making music by ear is precisely what's causing all the boring songs. How? Because our ears will always lead us to what we've heard before, which results in predictable music.

If we want to make music that stands out, we need to use theory. But, traditional theory is outdated and overcomplicated. This is the dilemma that 21st-century music is trapped in.

Our solution is Hack Music Theory online courses and PDFs, where you can learn relevant theory hacks that can be instantly applied to making creative music in any genre.

Ray Harmony

Award-winning music lecturer.

Hello! I'm Ray Harmony (né Ray Holroyd). I was born in Cape Town, where I began playing piano at the age of seven, and guitar at 12. I went on to form the band Royd, which received national acclaim. In 1996, our debut single reached No. 1 on the rock chart of South Africa's most popular national radio station, 5FM, and we returned to the No. 1 spot in 1998. After achieving the highest grade from the Royal Schools of Music in piano, classical guitar, and music theory, I moved to California in 1999 to study contemporary guitar and voice at the world-renowned Musicians Institute. I lived in Hollywood for two years while studying, making an album with my new band Gray Race Evolution, and gaining valuable experience playing the Los Angeles music circuit, including shows on the legendary Sunset Strip.

In 2001, I immigrated to England, where I studied education and did my teacher training in London. For the next ten years I lectured music theory and composition at one of the UK's largest colleges, West London College, later becoming the course director and accredited lead internal verifier. In my decade at the college, I was honoured to win two prestigious awards: Learner First, and Vocational Qualification Hero. In 2006 I formed a new band, 12 Ton Method. A couple years later we got signed and released our debut EP, only to break up a few months later. At this time I unintentionally became a music journalist (long story), and after writing for Kerrang! magazine from 2009 to 2010, I moved on to Terrorizer, where I also became the editor of their new guitar magazine, Sick Sounds. I ended up writing for Terrorizer magazine from 2010 until 2017, when Kate and I started our YouTube channel.

Winning the prestigious Learner First Award in 2010

I founded and ran the non-profit record label Grade 9 Records from 2008 to 2012, which exclusively released my students' music and donated all the proceeds to charity. In 2011, I relocated to Vancouver BC, Canada, and developed this dream by launching my new and improved non-profit record label, Revolution Harmony, which released over 40 records worldwide, including Cryptopsy's self-titled 2012 album. In 2013, I streamlined Revolution Harmony to focus exclusively on my All-Star charity singles, which featured multiplatinum Grammy-winning artists: Tom Morello from Rage Against The Machine, Serj Tankian from System Of A Down, and many more. All the proceeds from these singles were donated to charities that restore harmony between people, animals, and the environment.

In 2014, I moved to Salt Spring Island BC to get away from distractions and focus on writing my music theory book. On the island, I also met the love of my life, Kate, and together we started a music school. In 2015 we relocated to Victoria BC to re-immerse ourselves in city energy and kick up our production. After the success of our Hack Music Theory YouTube channel in 2017, we moved back to Vancouver BC to grow our notation-free music theory revolution. Thank you for being here! You're a vital part of this, cos together we are all the Revolution Harmony. XVX

Featured Releases

Hello

Ray Harmony

Download

Ray Harmony - composition, arrangement, production
Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine) - guitar solos
Eric Wainaina - vocals
Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree) - vocals
Kool Keith (Ultramagnetic MCs) - vocals
Madchild (Swollen Members) - vocals
Chris Turner - vocals
Stefan Loh - guitar
Mixed by Rohan Onraet
Mastered by Ted Jensen
Art by Maria

Ray Harmony - composition, arrangement, production
Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine) - guitar solos
Eric Wainaina - vocals
Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree) - vocals
Kool Keith (Ultramagnetic MCs) - vocals
Madchild (Swollen Members) - vocals
Chris Turner - vocals
Stefan Loh - guitar
Mixed by Rohan Onraet
Mastered by Ted Jensen
Art by Maria Picassó

1

Hello (feat. Tom Morello, Eric Wainaina, Steven Wilson, Kool Keith & Madchild) 4:54

0:00/4:54

We Are

Ray Harmony

Download

Ray Harmony - composition, arrangement, production
Serj Tankian (System Of A Down) - vocals
Ihsahn (Emperor) - vocals
Devin Townsend (Strapping Young Lad) - guitar solos
Abbie Johnson - vocals
Stefan Loh - guitar
Mixed by Rohan Onraet
Mastered by Ted Jensen
Art by Diederick During & Maria Picassó

1

We Are (feat. Serj Tankian, Ihsahn & Devin Townsend) 6:38

0:00/6:38

Kate Harmony

Hello, my name is Kate Harmony (née Kate Haddow). I've been singing and playing music for about three decades.

I studied voice and piano through my teenage years, accompanied by regular solo performances and choral concerts. As an adult, I studied popular music theory through the London College of Music and achieved a Distinction at Grade 8 (the highest grade).

I then undertook formal teacher training from Ray in 2014, who also trained me to teach his Hack Music Theory method; I'm the only person on the planet he's trained to teach his method! Following that, I went on to study vocals through the Berklee College of Music.

Back in 2006, I embarked on a life-changing charity trip to Botswana in Africa. It was there that I discovered the true power of music! On returning to Canada, I immersed myself even deeper into the singing world and began working with choirs, improvisation groups, and non-profits.

This eventually lead me into the world of holistic singing. As part of my exploration into the role that singing plays in the mind/body connection, I studied yoga and did my teacher training at Yandara Yoga Institute in Baja, Mexico.

For the last few years I've been teaching and performing in a variety of contexts, from yoga centres to festivals, but nowadays I'm excited and grateful to be working full-time on Hack Music Theory with the love of my life :)