Hello, I'm Ray Harmony (né Ray Holroyd), grandson of renowned South African artist Diederick During (1917–1991).

 

I was born in Cape Town, where I began playing piano at the age of seven, and guitar at 12. I started teaching privately in 1995, and went on to form the band Royd. We received national acclaim in 1996 when our debut single reached No. 1 on the rock chart of South Africa's most popular national radio station, 5FM. We returned to the No. 1 spot in 1998. After achieving the highest grade from the Royal Schools of Music in music theory, classical guitar and piano, I moved to California in 1999 to study 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 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. For the next 10 years I lectured music theory & composition at one of the UK's largest colleges, West London College, later becoming the course director and lead internal verifier for the music department. 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 also 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 the South African charity Buskaid, and the Kenyan charity Hope Runs (sadly defunct now).

 

 

 

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 re-immersed ourselves in the city energy, and kicked up our production. After the success of our Hack Music Theory YouTube channel, though, we once again retreated to the island to stay grounded. In 2023 we emerged from our little cabin deep in the forest and returned to the city, this time to Calgary, Alberta. Why Calgary? Well, because Kate is a descendant of the Southern Alberta Pioneers and all her family still lives there.

 

A heartfelt thank-you for being here. You're a vital part of this, because together we are all the Revolution 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 actually 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.

 

I've taught and performed in a wide variety of contexts, from music festivals to churches to yoga centres, but nowadays I'm excited and grateful to be working full-time on Hack Music Theory with the love of my life :)