Many gradient-based mathematical methods have been developed and are in use for structural size optimization problems, in which the cross-sectional areas or sizing variables are usually assumed to be continuous. In most practical structural engineering design problems, however, the design variables are discrete. The main objective of this paper is to propose an efficient optimization method for structures with discrete-sized variables based on the harmony search (HS) meta-heuristic algorithm that is derived using penalty function. The recently developed HS algorithm was conceptualized using the musical process of searching for a perfect state of harmony. It uses a stochastic random search instead of a gradient search so that derivative information is unnecessary. In this paper, a discrete search strategy using the HS algorithm with a static penalty function is presented in detail and its applicability using several standard truss examples is discussed. The numerical results reveal that the HS algorithm with the static penalty function proposed in this study is a powerful search and design optimization technique for structures with discrete-sized members.