TesseracT - Odd Time Signatures (Part 1) - Music Theory Hacks from "Sonder"

TesseracT has a refreshing approach to time signatures, so in this music theory lesson, you’ll learn their hacks to liberate your chord progressions from 4/4. But first... Tea!
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►Part 2 of this series: • TesseracT - Time Signa...
►Listen to "Sonder" at: www.TesseractBand.co.uk
TesseracT band photos by Steve Brown Creative
We’re gonna focus on the theory behind their lead single Luminary from their new masterpiece of an album, Sonder. TesseracT are renowned for perfectly balancing the artistic with the accessible, resulting in incredibly intelligent and creative songs, that are also super catchy! And this is why they appeal to music lovers of all genres, and why the theory in this series can also be used in all genres, and all instruments (so whether you write prog metal / djent guitar riffs or EDM bass lines, this'll help!). This hack is what TesseracT geniusely use in their Luminary chorus, which is in the key of D minor (AKA D Aeolian). So if you want an EPIC chorus, like Luminary, start by writing a chord progression in a minor key. But, here’s the problem, there’s already a zillion other songs with minor key choruses, so how do you make yours unique? Easy, you just use this hack. Right, here’s how it works. There’s only seven triads in a minor key. So, obviously your chord options are extremely limited. However, there are literally an infinite amount of harmonic rhythms and time signatures you can use for your chord progression. So, the “right place” part of this hack is all about choosing the right chords (in other words, any of these seven), and the “wrong time” part is this hack is all about playing those chords in an unpredictable harmonic rhythm within an unpredictable time signature, or two, like in the Luminary chorus. Here’s how you can use this hack in your own music:
STEP 1:
For that powerful Luminary feel, set your tempo to 78 BPM, and your grid to two bars of 12/8. 12/8 is in the family of time signatures known as “compound time”, and they divide music into groups of three 1/8-notes, which is more drawn out so it feels more dramatic than time signatures in the “simple time” family, like 4/4, which use groups of two 1/8 notes.
STEP 2:
Decide what chords you want to use from the key of D minor, and draw each chord's root note in your piano roll (you can fill the rest of the notes in later). Here’s the chords we chose: Dm → B♭maj → Cmaj → Am (1st bar) / B♭maj → Gm → Am → Cmaj → Am → B♭maj (2nd bar)
STEP 3:
Apply the “wrong time” part of this hack to your chord progression. TesseracT masterfully twists two bars of 12/8 into one bar of 11/8 and one bar of 13/8, resulting in two odd time signatures replacing one even time signature, it doesn’t get better than that! To pull off this magic trick, all you need to do is steal one 1/8 note from bar 2, and donate it to bar 1. The easiest way to do this, is to choose a chord in bar 1 that you wanna shorten, and a chord in bar 2 that you wanna lengthen. So in bar 1 we decided to shorten the B♭maj, and in bar 2 we decided to lengthen the Am. Now, select all the chords in between those two chords you just changed, and move all that MIDI an 1/8 note earlier. Tada, your chorus just got the TesseracT “wrong time, right place” makeover! And you’ll notice we now have an unpredictable pattern of groups of three 1/8 notes and groups of two 1/8 notes, and that’s exactly what transforms this chord progression from ordinary, to extraordinary!
BONUS STEP:
To make the most of your new and improved harmonic rhythm, be sure to accent the chord changes with your drums.
ABOUT
Hack Music Theory is the pioneering notation-free method for making great music. Taught by award-winning music lecturer Ray Harmony, and his protégé (and wife) Kate Harmony, from their studio in Vancouver BC, Canada. Ray is the author of critically-acclaimed book series "Hack Music Theory", and has made music with Serj Tankian (System of a Down), Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine), Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree), Ihsahn (Emperor), Kool Keith (Ultramagnetic MCs), Madchild (Swollen Members), and many more. Kate has the highest grade distinction in Popular Music Theory from the London College of Music, and is the only person on the planet who's been trained by Ray to teach his Hack Music Theory method! While these Hack Music Theory KZbin lessons teach music theory for producers and DAW users, they are designed to accommodate all music makers (songwriters, guitarists, etc.) and all genres, from Electronic Music to R&B, Pop to Hip-Hop, Reggae to Rock, EDM/Dance to Metal (and yes, we djefinitely Djent!).
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►Kate Harmony's music: RevolutionHarmony.com/Kate
Music by Revolution Harmony
(c) 2018 Revolution Harmony

[@HackMusicTheory]

Hack Djent PDFs: HackMusicTheory.com/Djent

[@BhargavaMan]

Tesseract? Music Theory? Odd Time Signatures? THIS CHANNEL IS YES

[@HackMusicTheory]

Lol, that's awesome Aman, thanks for watching and connecting, we really appreciate it! Until next time, take care and happy songwriting! Kate :)

[@yorichixX]

Yos boi

[@yorichixX]

Yo dude! Exactly...

[@yorichixX]

Lol i just realised I have already replied wahaha

[@nairblab4061]

That was the clearest representation of theory I think i've seen yet!

[@randyhalfway]

In love with your videos! I'm into technical and prog type music, but never know how to write it. You guys make it so easy, thank you!

[@graysonwilson-cacciapalle7989]

Interesting approach, may give it a try. Seeing Tesseract and Plini this weekend!

[@HackMusicTheory]

Yay!! Do it, and let us know how it goes 😃 Enjoy the show this weekend and until next time, take care and happy songwriting! Kate :)

[@YourRelaxMusic1]

I wish you to reach a gold button ! I've got from you some interesting tips

[@clemrecords2548]

Thank you so much for these videos. They are really clear, fun and simple to understand. Keep up the awesome work !

[@HackMusicTheory]

Aw thank you sincerely, Clement, we're so very happy to hear you're finding our teachings helpful. Yay!!! It's lovely to meet you, and welcome to our community, it's a pleasure to have you involved. By the way, what kinda music are you into? Also, we noticed a couple comments from you on our older videos, and we'll get to those asap (we always focus on replying to comments on our new videos first, so thanks for your patience).

[@clemrecords2548]

Thanks for answering to comments even though we're 80000 ! And I'm into country music (I'm a huuuuuge fan of Taylor Swift, I don't know if you heard her album Speak Now, this is a masterpiece in lyrics and productions !). Thank you again for answering and noticing me on your comments !!!!!!

[@addictedtocraic]

You guys rule! Such a refeshing easy way to explain how to APPLY theory. I had to learn it from dusty books. Lol

[@saysthemanbehindthemask]

great stuff guys!

[@viktorshvets9670]

This is brilliant! I need to try it right now.

[@HackMusicTheory]

Hey Viktor, great to hear from you again! Did you try it yet? How did it go?! Kate :)

[@ellleigh1216]

This video was awesome, so glad to stumble across this channel!

[@HackMusicTheory]

Sooooo happy you dig our video, Ell! Thank you kindly for taking the time to watch and connect, we are deeply grateful to you! Take care and until next time, happy songwriting! Kate :)

[@RpgRiser1]

OMG TESSERACT They're one of my favorite bands, thank you so much!

[@HackMusicTheory]

Hey, that's super cool Kira! Thanks so much for watching, and we'll see you next week for Part 2!

[@maiskorrel]

So glad I discovered you guys! Just amazing! Greetings from the Netherlands.

[@HackMusicTheory]

Hallo to you in the Netherlands! Thanks so much for watching and connecting Ra New! We're pumped to welcome you into our Hack Music Theory revolution! Until next time, take care and happy songwriting, Kate :)

[@francissreckofabian01]

Congrats on 80,000 Very deserved. TG4T!

[@HackMusicTheory]

Aww, thank you Francis, you're very kind. I think you found us when we were just starting to grow, so thanks again for your support and enthusiasm, it makes all the hard work worthwhile!! I hope you and your music are flourishing! Take care and have a lovely weekend. Kate :)

[@maximmatselinskiy583]

Great video, thanks guys! Is this catchy riff available for download?:) or just make a 10hr version of it :D

[@DarkShaman667]

Well, that was easy and painless. Thank you!

[@HackMusicTheory]

Haha, glad to hear it Nudelaug! Thanks for watching and connecting. Take care and happy songwriting! Kate :)

[@HAZARDOUS88]

Thanks very much, I love this stuff!

[@HackMusicTheory]

Awesome, we're pumped you enjoyed it HAZARDOUS88! Have an awesome week :)

[@franzposcher1853]

Yes!! love it

[@santaclause6839]

Just discovered TessaracT I love them

[@Marxlrose]

Yay you 2 :) swishter on the video, loving the old skool tea party.

[@HackMusicTheory]

Yay for old skool tea parties! Swishter... that's a new one Mark, I like it!

[@binzianer]

You got me back again! Hell yeah!

[@HackMusicTheory]

Where did you go?! ;) We're so glad you came back! Have a wonderful week and until next time, happy songwriting beans.!

[@nathanmccook133]

What plugins do u use for your midi? Does reaper have any built in?

[@de7io407]

ray is so joyful i love it, just found this channel and not disappointed

[@HackMusicTheory]

Aww thanks so much de7io, and a warm welcome to our Hack Music Theory community! We publish new vids every Thursday, so we hope to see you again soon for more theory hacks! Until then, have a wonderful week :)

[@nhaat3652]

Nice drawing! keep it up 😍

[@MB-bu4gz]

omg! nice hack guys, this is very impresive and useful!

[@HackMusicTheory]

Lol, so happy you enjoyed this one M B! By the way, how is your music making these days? Have you made more music using MIDI? Hope you had a lovely weekend and we will see you next week for Part 2! Cuidate, Kate :)

[@isaaccardin2535]

That bass sounds so good! What plugin are you using?

[@bwestby1]

So cool. Thanks a lot.

[@HackMusicTheory]

Thanks for taking the time to watch and comment, bwestby1! Until next time, happy songwriting! Kate :)

[@neeratron]

THIS IS A HELPFUL CHANNEL! WHY HADNT I HEARD OF THIS BEFORE :o

[@HackMusicTheory]

Hey hey, thanks so much for watching and connecting, Neerajan! It always makes us happy to know that our hacks are helping musicians! Welcome to the Hack Music Theory revolution and until next time, take care and happy music making! Kate :)

[@GOTRAVlogs]

What’s this bass plugin? Thank you 🙏

[@januszo.2180]

this is suprisingly awsome, cool and useful. I wonder do they do it similarly or is it in their blood already (after so many years of nailing it), so they cannot even walk in a 4/4 ;)

[@PhilippeBlancR5]

Cool hack. As usual. Great !# !

[@HackMusicTheory]

We're pumped you liked this one :) Hope you're well and making lots of music!

[@absence7445]

Holy hell that bass sample is gorgeous. What is it? Cool series!

[@armoryourmind]

This is amazing!

[@HackMusicTheory]

Thanks BigJordy, and a warm welcome to the Hack Music Theory community! What kind of music do you make? Hope this finds you happy and healthy :)

[@armoryourmind]

@@HackMusicTheory Thank you for the welcome, loving your channel! I've also just signed up to your apprenticeship course, can wait to get stuck into it! Most of music I'm writing is the modern metal style, ie Architects, Tesseract etc. Hope you guys are also happy and healthy!

[@HackMusicTheory]

Oh wow that's awesome!!! Welcome to the apprentice family, BigJordy, we're super stoked and grateful to have you on board! And that's great that you're into those bands too. You'll really love Apprenticeship #2, by the way, cos that goes ultra mega deep into progressive and technical theory. Also, the legendary Jens Bogren mixed the App #2 song, so it sounds HUGE!!! Anyhoo, thanks big time once again for joining our apprenticeship, and we'll send you an exclusive invite to our apprentice network later today, so keep an eye out for that :)

[@ssiowi]

Yeppers: Y'all hooked me, good on ya. All the best from Spokane and see ya maybe at a show in YVR. Keep at it mates!

[@HackMusicTheory]

Haha, that's awesome David and hello to you down in Spokane!! Thanks so much for watching and connecting, until next time, take care! Kate :)

[@CheeseLord]

I'm still reeling at how lucky I am to have seen these guys last week. Thanks for the fantastic video as always!!

[@HackMusicTheory]

Amen to that, Leftham Sam! We're literally blasting their album right now and chatting about how goosebump-inducing that show was. WOW!!! What city did you catch 'em in? Thanks big time for watching our video and connecting, it's lovely to meet you :)

[@CheeseLord]

I was in San Francisco! Met a couple of people afterwards who were equally blown away haha. Awesome talking to you too, your videos make me want to pick up an instrument again!

[@HackMusicTheory]

Amazingly amazing!!! Yeah they're completely mindblowing all on their own, and then you add that new light show to their incredibly stage performance, and the whole thing totally feels like an arena show, right? Anyhoo, it's always a pleasure to meet a fellow TesseracT fan, so thanks a bunch for your comment and kind words, we truly appreciate you being a part of our community! And yes, you should pick up your instrument again, definitely!!! And please keep us posted :)

[@CheeseLord]

Yes! The light show was such a cool addition, but I may have had my retinas burned out by being in the front lol. These kinds of videos have really brought the fun/interesting/applicable part of music theory back into my life and I'd try my hand at composing if I knew where to start, but I'm already listening to music in a more attentive way! Oh, also, I really hope both of you have checked out Leprous because they are really something special.

[@HackMusicTheory]

Haha it's funny you mention Leprous, as we absolutely love 'em, and they're actually Kate's favourite band! And wow that's awesome you were in the front at the TesseracT show, you're braver than us haha, it was crazy up there! Thanks sooooo much once again for your incredibly kind words about our videos, that means the absolute world to us, and we're over the moon happy that you're finding such value in them. And by the way, if you're wanting to know where to start with composing, you may find our apprenticeship course super helpful, as it literally covers every single step of the process, from blank screen to finished song. If you're interested, you can check it out here: RevolutionHarmony.com/Apprenticeship. Either way, we're ultra pumped to have you in our community, Leftham Sam, and please keep us posted on your musical journey :)

[@Generative_Midi_]

I've been following your tips and hacks carefully and to the letter, and getting so much value from them, but I always need to go to the toilet halfway through each video as i'm drinking too much tea and it means I have to rewind and so forth to get back into the groove. Do you have any hacks that could solve this?

[@addison1010101]

yes

[@HackMusicTheory]

Hahaha!!! You should see how many teas and pees we clock up in the making of each video, it's rather impressive actually! Regarding your question about a tea/pee hack. We suggest watching on your mobile phone/device, so you can just take it with you to the toilet, and keep watching! Hope this hack helps ;) Thanks big time for connecting, John, it's lovely to meet you, and we're so grateful to have you in our community!

[@andromeda6463]

Hack Music Theory how about just watching from the toilet- saves having to go for a walk

[@mrpeanut268]

Literally did a double take when I saw this, I love Tesseract!

[@HackMusicTheory]

Lol, that's awesome!! It's great to hear from you Colin :) How's your music making going these days? Still outside the box?! Have a wonderful week, and we'll see you next week for Part 2! Kate :)

[@mrpeanut268]

Great to hear from you Kate! Music making has been awesome recently, always trying to be outside the box at least haha; feeling very inspired! Hope you and Ray have a great week as well!

[@PhilippeBlancR5]

Congratulation for your 8 subs. lol. Tea time and Tesseract. Cool. Salute de France !!

[@HackMusicTheory]

Merci Philou!! See you next week for more Tea &Tesseract! Have a wonderful week :)

[@PhilippeBlancR5]

Thank you. Have a great week too. Reggae music here : kzbin.info/www/bejne/gIucZpeIeZegq5I

[@LouisSerieusement]

awesome thank you :D progressiv metal is wonderful for those kind of tricks :) I did have a band like that before we split and I played the guitar and made the composition work ; now I do acid / hard techno ; sorry I didn't reply, you asked several times how my musical projects were doing, I prefer not to talk about it because the more I talk about it, the less they have a chance to take life ; but you ask twice then...I work on 2 vinyl releases and on a new live project, I changed my setup, so now I don't use computer anymore, and right now I'm step sequencing all my composition into my hardware synth and drum machines :) cheers and love to you two :p have a very good day :) :) :) !! Louis

[@HackMusicTheory]

Bonjour Louis! Thank you for sharing about your music :) I totally understand about not wanting to talk about unfinished music or "song babies," as we call them. It's wonderful to hear that you have a new setup and are staying busy making music. That's the best life ever! Have a wonderful week! Kate :)

[@matenorth]

''the more I talk about it, the less they have a chance to take life '' MY WHOLE LIFE

[@archymcfyre]

Can someone tell me what program they are using with the MIDI

[@HackMusicTheory]

Hi Archie, thanks so much for watching and connecting! We use Reaper and are big fans of the software. Take care and we hope to hear from you again. Happy Songwriting! Kate :)

[@AndreiIstoc]

YAY!

[@HackMusicTheory]

Haha, thanks for watching and connecting Andrei! Take care and see you next week for Part 2 :)

[@MikaelaHedberg]

I'm going back looking at some of your earlier stuff and I'm so glad I found this. Sonder is a true masterpiece of an album. But to my point - so is Altered State. The change of singers on that album mixed something up. Not for better, nor for worse, just different, and I can't put my finger on it. So a hack on one of the Altered State songs/suites would be cool! Keep up your awesomeness! 🤘

[@HackMusicTheory]

Aw thanks Mikaela, really appreciate you digging into our back catalogue. And yeah, we've done quite a few other prog/tech bands besides TesseracT and Periphery, like Architects, Arusha Accord, Good Tiger, and probably some others I'm forgetting. By the way, are you into Sikth? I love 'em!!! Ray :)

[@HackMusicTheory]

Also, are you into Port Noir? They're from your country (I think they're based in Södertälje). We're totally in love with their new album, and we did a video on their amazing drummer recently: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fn3Vq4iIbdCqr9U

[@MikaelaHedberg]

@@HackMusicTheory I haven't heard Sikth, I will check them out, thanks! And regarding Port Noir, yes I've heard them, and I've gotten disappointed by them. They have a few really good songs like Tide and Sun dé man, but the rest that I've heard haven't made an impact on me at all. I will check out that video, though, and maybe give that new album another shot. 😊

[@HackMusicTheory]

Yeah I hadn't heard Port Noir before this new album of theirs, but I'm absolutely loving it!! It's like a hip-hop Leprous album haha, so definitely give it another few listens (it'll grow on you!). And for sure check out Sikth, they're one of the original tech metal bands, and they're amazing!! Their newest album actually has a song featuring the Periphery singer: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iYnbkoqsi6uflZo Also check out Exist Immortal, they were my students back in the day when I was lecturing at the college in London, they're awesome too: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aWKXdWukjrl2pqM

[@oli__lange]

nice hack :)

[@HackMusicTheory]

Thanks Oli :D Hope you had a fantastic weekend!

[@sk8ns4life]

You guys should do a podcast.

[@HackMusicTheory]

Hey hey BignattyBrubz hue, thanks for so much for watching and connecting! We have a podcast - just search Hack Music Theory. It's the audio from our YT videos, so there's a new episode every week! Until next time, take care and happy music making, Kate :)

[@berval5948]

Teseract!!!!!! One of the best!!!!! But first.............. progressive tea!!!!!!!! Jml

[@HackMusicTheory]

Haha, prog tea, I like it!!

[@ReyhanJoseph]

🍵

[@HackMusicTheory]

TEA!!! Thanks so much for stopping by Reyhan :)

[@ReyhanJoseph]

@@HackMusicTheory 🙇

[@jjwp-ql5rv]

☕️🧐

[@HackMusicTheory]

Haha, thanks Jay!

[@onsonginternational5391]

Cool Cool Channel

[@HackMusicTheory]

Hey thanks! We really appreciate you watching and connecting! Until next time, take care and happy songwriting! Kate :)

[@JayRamahi3810]

RIP Jay's awesome hair. Damn balding!