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Thank you for making this video but I wish you hadn't mixed and matched the examples. It's hard to hear the full chord progression when you keep switching from one song to the next midway through. It's also hard to hear when more than one song is played at the same time.
@@DavidBennettPiano Oh. Sorry pal. Nice and quick reply. I like that. You're good at all the music stuff. Thanks for some of the things you're helping me figure out. Ok. Later.
Right after I read your comment, I paid extra attention to the audio editing. It was right around 4:00... talk about bad timing! (I mean the deep rumble stuff... probably I wouldn't have even noticed it if not for the just reading the comment about great editing. This isn't a complaint about the rumble (it didn't bother me), just noting a weird coincidence of timing while reading g the comments. Plus, I had to pause the vid to prepare myself for the 3 truly overused chord progressions... perfect time to write my own comment...EDIT: ah, the rumble is during all the Nord recordings, I think. Maybe check for this in the future.
I second the lyrics being the key selling point of her music. I think the variety of styles and layers of textures she and the musicians she works with are able to bring in with instrumentation also helps keep her music fresh. Also, great job on the mashups.
I agree with all of that. I also think she focuses deeply on the rhythm of the vocal as well as the melody. I would imagine the chords - initially sketched out on piano or guitar - are secondary in her writing process to the lyrics and the means by which they're delivered. I doubt that she writes to backing tracks very often (I think I remember an interview regarding "Out of the Woods" that attested to that - because that was a Jack Antonoff backing track that Taylor then wrote to - which was unusual for her). Anecdotally - when I've tried to write songs melody-first* I tend to find the chord progressions naturally end up pretty simple - a lot of 2, 3, or 4 chord loops and consisting of only I IV V and vi. I can jazz it up with substitutions, but that can easily start stepping on the the vocal. And in pop music there's no bigger crime than stepping on the vocal. *I typically write "harmony first" - which I think is pretty common of "rock" and "jazz" musicians and less so of "pop" musicians. But by writing that way and trying to craft the melody to fit the chords it's a lot easier to end up with "special" chord changes.
Yes, the lyrics are important to many of her fans, but one thing that was overlooked here was Taylor's utterly amazing sense of melody. Melody, and strong melodies at that, are a huge key to making memorable songs that people fall in love with. Her variety in melody makes songs which happen to have the same progression sound distinctly different harmonically.
@Hazel Allison As a percentage, the songs she has "written to track" are pretty small. Taylor's real musical brilliance is her melody composition, and she is still doing that even if someone else crafted a backing track. On 1989, "I Wish You Would" has an awesome vocal melody hook, and she composed that. And it would be no different if she was in a band.. other members coming up with various instrument parts. I think she really enjoys writing with others because it is fun. Even when she takes a song she essentially wrote herself (like Blank Space .. pretty much) to a producer, there's a ton of fun to be had adding all the instrumentation etc.
A lot of people mention Swift's lyrics, which are definitely very good most of the time, but I actually find her melodies her most enjoyable parts. The fact she can weave such diverse melodies and emotions over such generally simple chord structures is one of her strong suits. She also does have nice ways of mixing things up with the way she plays the chords (often incorporating some kind of drone note, or adding 9ths or sussing chords). Also, increasingly, and in part thanks to her collaboration with Jack Antonoff, her arrangements and harmonies are very interesting, and lend themselves very well to repeat listens. Edit: For instance, All Too Well, Out of the Woods and Should've Said No are very different sounding songs with completely different energies, even though they use the same chord progression.
100% and absolutely correct, and what I said in my comment. I can't believe David didn't point this out in the video. Her musical genius without doubt is her outrageous gift for melody. Almost anybody can pick up a guitar and play a simple progression, but coming up with dozens and dozens of beautiful hook melodies is a LOt more challenging. "Forever and Always" is an absolute masterclass of melody. As is "Blank Space". It is great melodies that will make millions of people fall in love with your songs/music. Ask John Williams.
Thank you so much for appreciating her melodies. It's what i've been trying to point out as a fan of her while explaining why i love her music so much. Repeated chord progressions, yes, but you can tell most of the times that her songs are different from each other (with a few exceptions from lover area, i think)
Couldn't agree more. Her genius lyrical talent is only exceeded by her ability to find beautiful melodies amongst such well used chord progressions. I find this video somewhat simplistic because there are no mentions of her great middle eights or the way she moves around within the 4 chords that always seems to work.
@@TheflyingkiwiRC Oh yeah her bridges are goated, great point! How You Get the Girl is a great example. It's just the same 1-5-4 progression, but has such an incredibly tasty and different feeling melody over it. Loving all the points y'all are making in this thread, keep em coming!
Much of modern pop has something in common with old folk songs or nursery rhymes. The harmonies are so predictable and comforting, but a bit too childlike or even boring to those of us that grew up in a different era. That said, Taylor must be greatly talented to keep finding something new and interesting to say over chords we've heard millions of times.
@@AutPen38 I was never a listener to her song and belong to Gen Z, but I agree. I listen mostly old pop songs from 70s and 80s simply because of how creative their overall making of that music.
Hearing all her songs mixed together so beautifully made me so emotional 😭 You are absolutely right about these chord progressions being a familiar "bed" for her lyrics and stories to lay on. That is why so many like me always come back to her music. It's ever-changing but always feels like home 🥰
The first time you played the 4 chords of her most used progression (I V vi IV), my mind automatically filled in "... speaking words of wisdom, let it be."
I’m not even a big Swift fan but I love this, it shows how even if her genre has changed over the years she still writes similarly to her old country music
Musically, she's boring AF. And yall call it, keeping her unique style. Good one. I'll remember it the next time I want to insult-without-insulting some artist for being very, very, very limited & repetitive. "Oh, she's so loyal to her own style & vision" wink wink.
Without saying I like it or dislike it, I'll say that I'd be hella bored if I were the artist. I feel the same way about 12-bar-blues artists, or reggae 2-bar bands. Dontcha wanna try something else? Especially Swift, who can do just about anything she pleases and retain fans. Try some wacky new chords, collaborations, instrumentation, beats,... I know she's a Beatles fan. Let's look at all the experimentation they did. John would have hit himself in the head with a rock if he had had to keep playing Love Me Do music, and Paul is always trying something new.
@@jcarty123 Musically everything pop is boring. She is an artist targeting teens/young girls as her audience and in that category I have mad respect. She has limited grasp of musical concepts, plays her own instrument and seems open in regards to the fact that she's not a musicians musician, this is all I can ask of a pop artist. Most of them surround themselves with incredible musicians and give little to no credit. Also, in her Demographic (Young/Teen girls), she is in a powerful position of providing consistent music to people who DONT understand theory. All of us on this channel have a higher than average understanding of what goes into making music, people who just listen to Taylor Swift have no idea she's reusing chord progressions.
@@Etat7 Nice tone, very nice try, I like it.... so.... I do feel sorry to point out that you're still in the position of having to defend a s--- sandwich. "everything pop is boring" - TODAY. Which gets us to the discussion of how pop since the 2000s got fundamentally less varied. Suffice to say: Even teenage girls used to demand more. Beatles, Elton John, Zep, Clash, Nirvana, even Michael Jackson - all writing for teenage girls, all tried to make each track different from the last.
@@hugobeswick3558 that's where you're wrong! even if the chord progressions are similar, the melodies and lyrics are very versatile and unique to their own songs
I appreciate the subtle effort to make these medley transition nicely between each other. That's how you know you care about the music, becuase you want it to ound nice even when you're making a point.
Thank you for the way this was presented. I feel like I’ve seen these types of videos before where the person calls this type of pattern “lazy and bad writing” because of the repeated chord progressions. But this was very educational and respectful of Taylor’s craft, which I appreciate so much.
Anyone who says it's lazy and bad is just wrong. A chord progression is just the harmonic backbone of a song, the melodies, rhythms and instrumentation and arrangements create a unique song. And Taylor is a genius melodist.. melody is where it's at. Nobody, and I mean nobody, does it better than she does.
The entire Red album was written the with C G Am F chords (not in that order, but only those chords were used). That album is completely versatile and is a great example how four chords can change so much Edit: I meant 1-5-6-4 chords, not C G Am F
I remember learning to play guitar because of Taylor Swift and her Fearless album has a lot of D A Em G chord songs, easiest way for me to learn guitar with my favorite songs of her that time 😍
actually if I remember correctly, Red was mostly in the key of E. So E A Bb and C#m. there may have been a song or two in C (all too well maybe), but saying that C G Am and F were the only chords used on the entire album is very not true.
@@kayajones7629 actually I meant that if you play all the songs on the guitar, you can capo it for some songs and it'll all end up using those four chords. For example, you can capo your guitar on the 4th fret and play those chords and the result would be Red
i think a very cool thing of hers is that she can hold on to a chord for a long time. many people go through the progression very quickly, but she usually holds each chord in the progression for a long time, making the melody kind of more satisfying. that's why she doesn't need that many weird or varied chords, because her melodies already do so much within each single chord
I’ve been arranging covers of 13 songs from each of her albums (did 13 Days of Red last year for the re-recording release) so thanks for saving me a lot of time going forward 😂 Also the mashups are a great example of how she could go about performing more than 10% of her output for the Eras tour. 👏
@@MJ-he1hf i remember when she did a medley of back to decemeber/apologize/you're not sorry during her speak now tour and i loved that arrangement, especially with the strings.
Interesting to note is that her 4th and 5th most common progressions (vi-IV-I-V and IV-I-V-vi) have the same chords in the same order, they just start the loop in a different place.
I think it's her most recognizable chord, at least for me anyways. I heard it and started blasting out all the songs that came up after. For her #1 chord progression, I didn't actually recognize it until Love Story.
As a huge fan of what some might consider weird music, here’s a takeaway I have: All of these chord progressions are strictly diatonic. There’s nothing weird about them. That makes them feel comfortable and familiar, and easy to listen to. Contrast that with songs like Bliss by Muse, which is in C minor for the verses and switches to C major for the chorus, or The Cure’s song End which has a G minor, G major, F sus2 chord progression. Chromatic and adventurous chord progressions like that intentionally interrupt the flow, change the mood, and shake your foundation, and probably would not be appropriate for storyteller songwriting like Taylor uses, simply because it would be distracting.
She also uses unconventional chord progressions on occasion which are only unconventional when used on occasion. Not exactly the same thing but the reason her two 5/4 songs (tolerate it and closure) work so well is because they break from convention and use the time signature to convey a very specific message - the cognitive dissonance of unappreciated love or a situation in which the narrator is barely holding back her anger
this doesn't make any sense, especially considering how a lot of folk and popular songs are written in modes (like Mixolydian or Dorian). You can write songs in non diatonic way it has nothing to do with interrupting the flow
When I taught myself to play guitar, all I played was Taylor Swift songs because I could play so many of them with the few chords I knew. Definitely an interesting topic for a video! It brought me back to that for a minute
A student of mine told me that she has a friend who only knows 4 chords and played the same 4 chords for an hour and figured out 20 Taylor songs. Also, you should really do a video on Bob Dylan's chord progressions. A lot of people say that his lyrics are better than his music and while that is largely true, he's quite clever with his chord choices and very often they act as the song's main hook, more than the melody. You can recognize several Dylan songs just by the chords.
@@gamer966 Simple Twist of Fate, Idiot Wind, Just Like A Woman, Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands, Hurricane, Dark Eyes, As I Went Out One Morning, It's Alright Ma, This Wheel's On Fire and many more.
I think the ability to create an interesting melody is one of her very strong points. It's so catchy, even with just using a common chord progression. Freaking 41 different sequences of melodies and lyrics written in just 2 chords progression and all of them sounds different but still nice and catchy. Not many artists can pull that stuff. Buying her album is not something I regret. It mostly contains 15++ songs (over 60 minutes) and all of them sound nice.
@@noradosmith When you (and others) say "she", are you suggesting she writes her own melodies? There's like half a dozen people credited each on these tracks.
@@jasonfanclub4267 What?!? Do you know anything about Taylor? She composes virtually all her songs herself. More than 50 of her songs are solo written (including an entire album), and include some of her BEST songs like Red, Forever and Always, Love Story, and Blank Space (yep, she wrote that on guitar, Max Martin just changed into a synth pop track and helped with arrangement). When she collaborates, she usually does most of the vocal melodies, on songs like Out Of The Woods, Wish You Were and Getaway Car.
Also, 3 of the 5 chord progressions are just shifted versions of each other (the chord sequences are identical, it's just which chord you start on that changes). So you could play 39 of the songs using the exact same loop of chords, you would just need to shift the start of your lyrics phrasing.
As a European Swiftie I have no connection to Ticketmaster whatsoever and since she’s probably not even doing a European tour this time I care even less. She’s just not popular enough here which is a shame but I still think Americans overstate her worldwide popularity
I think David is very aware of the Swifties jumping onto this vid.. Might be interesting what Swift inc. is going to do. The vid is for educational use and friendly to artist and fans.
Like the video, the comment’s intended to be neutral, read into it what you will. Swifties aren’t exactly known for their nuanced online behavior, or understanding of issues. Hard to say how many knew of Ticketmaster’s history with Vedder or Pearl Jam until they “discovered” it. Or whether they’d stick around for David’s summary at video’s end or how they’d take it. Swift’s music is perfectly fine in my book, but I’m more impressed by her storytelling and production. Her fandom is another story, but that may be more a product of it growing up with social media. I feel Swift could do more to tame its more toxic elements, however.
i remember learning all too well on the piano for the first time and being like "cool..." and then i learned champagne problems and i was like "woahhhh these are the same chords!!" and then learning cornelia street... "THESE ARE STILL THE SAME CHORDS!!" i do realize i chose the most similar-sounding songs out of all her songs with this chord progression (what can i say i love a good cry) but i love how she uses melodies, lyrics, beats and other parts of the song to make songs with even the most basic chords extremely intriguing and different from each other. great video!!
I've never paid much attention to her music finding it all pretty much interchangeable with every other song she's done. And here's one big reason why: they actually ARE interchangeable. It's not even the chord progressions themselves, but that these same variations of the same four chords (the use of the vi or ii being the only real difference) are so heavily relied upon by the same artist again and again and again. Add the same old generic "sad girl" lyrics and what is there really left to listen to?
Awesome video. I feel like the reason Taylor uses so many simple chord progressions stems from the fact that she focuses so heavily on lyricism and telling a story in her songs which can be difficult to portray on top of having complex chord progressions
In the past, there were "storytelling songs" that also had chord structures that wandered off in interesting directions (e.g. The Beatles), but I don't think modern audiences have the attention spans that listeners had in the past. We all just want simplicity served up these days. Fast food microwave pop music. There's nothing wrong with it, per se, as the world has changed since the old days, but one has to wonder where pop goes next. I can't see any reason why we'd go back to using 8 or 10 different chords in a song, when the message can be understood with 3 or 4.
Danny Elfman wrote very complex music for his band Oingo Boingo but his lyrics were really good as well. Though I have to say that his songs that are stronger musically are weaker lyrically and vice versa.
@@digitaldirtbagg David is a good musician and teacher, I wish I could get lessons from him. He knows how songs work and their structure regardless of who he’s talking about. He’s never bashed an artist but understands things from their point of view. He’s one of my favourite RUclipsrs but unfortunately he attracts a lot of pretentious music chords with one armed arguments, just like Taylor being bashed for the ‘same chord progression’ when many artists will do the same including people from the rock and punk genre.
Just because she has good lyrics doesn't give her an excuse to make simpler and more repetitive and less creative music. You can have good lyrics and interesting chord progressions I don't see why not.
Let's also remember that Taylor has a discography of over 200 songs at this point. Most artists are lucky to ever reach that number. Of course there's gonna be stuff that gets repeated.
The Beatles had well over 200 songs (in only 7 years), but I don't hear them constantly repeating themselves by using the same chords and the same (autotuned) sound.
I really like your conclusion to this, that chords are colours and painting and liking the same colours isn't always a bad thing. I think Taylor Swift does it well because while I knew some of her songs had similar progressions, I had no idea about the amount that shared the exact same ones (and I've been a big Taylor Swift fan since my teenage years when I first heard Love Story). They sound similar but different enough, and I enjoy that, honestly. It made me curious about an album that's just one singular progression but each song is done differently, trying to make it sound unique despite sharing that progression. I don't know if anyone has done this - and I'm definitely not the right person to do this!!! - but I would be really interesting in it if they have.
Honestly, it’s quite understandable that these are her favorite chords if you remember her background is playing a guitar and all that country music. Those chords (C, G, D, Am, F) are basically the most popular chords and kinda the first chords any person learning a guitar would in fact learn. Lots of rock music (played with a guitar obviously) is played basically with only those chords, with a few additions here and there. It all makes sense. She isn’t some Jimi Hendrix type of a person, she’s a lyricist first, so it makes sense that her music might be seen as quite basic in terms of chords. UPD: corrected guitar virtuoso's name
Ok, I've never really been a Swiftie, but the mashups you made were so beautiful that it's got me interested in digging into some of her back catalog to see if I can get more into it. Great video!
I thought I was the only one who pays attention to the chords Taylor uses in her songs lmao and immediately whenever she has a song with the chord progression IV I V vi, I fall in love with it because it's just beautiful. I also love it when she uses IV vi V ii like in New Romantics, it's just a pretty chord progression.
@@Mermelephant music training is cut from education and not a lot of theory analysis is done on pop music. while you might be right in any absolute sense (there's more than a handful) the relative number of people allen might encounter in life or social media is objectively tiny.
the thing is, realistically, no one cares about chord progressions, unless you're really into music. as someone who grew up with music, I pay attention to even the tiniest details, and with Taylor, I pay attention to her chords usage. You might think it's silly but throughout my life, I have never met someone who is as interested to chords as I am. But I do agree that she is one of most prolific American singers of this generation; I can't argue with that.
Hearing all of these repeated chord progressions makes me think that this is what makes so many of her songs feel familiar and like instant loves when she creates new albums and new songs. These chords are the building blocks that create the whole vibe and atmosphere we associate with her.
I know I already said it but it deserves it's own comment alone: The vocal editing showing the progressions and songs and how they work together are brilliant! Beautiful! Amazing!
Even as a budding music theory snob (and marginal TS fan), I've never detected all these chord progressions she uses so much--I think it's a bit of a testament to how she's able to make them sound so different with her lyrics, vocal melodies and rhythms, etc. It's cool; thanks for the video!
Exactly, it's her MELODIES that are her genius, and she creates so many memorable and beautiful ones. That's what maked people fall in love with her songs... melody is always the strongest suit in music IMHO.
As soon as I realized that #5 was just a cyclic reordering of the I-V-vi-IV, my immediate reaction was, "Oh, man, are they all like that? Is that the whole list?!" It's not. But, with the exception of that ii in the "Believe" progression, they are all _permutations_ of I-V-vi-IV.
I think to me her 2nd most common progression I V ii VI is what I most associate with her music. It might just be that they're the songs I listened most to other than her axis of awesome progression
Lots of artists do exactly the same, virtually all Noel Gallagher songs are Wonderwall with a different melody. What you say is so true, if the listener likes something then they usually want more of the same.
“Now you come around here just to break me like a promise / so casually cruel in the name of being honest.” That’s such a good lyric that it’s going to get people regardless of how many times you’ve heard it before
@@DavidBennettPiano Lol I figured. I don't know much about copyright but I know Taylor Swift's songs are all in a weird place being owned by her and her old record studios.
I'm guessing -- extract the vocals from the recording, trim to a short segment, then change them to be in the same key and tempo for the mashup. Voila! Algorithm thwarted.
I really did enjoy the mash ups, I've had my fill of Taylor for the day haha! Thank you for the wonderful explanation and tips of what chords are best to use.
Great study of popular chord progressions. I didn't know many of these songs, and may have gained more respect for Taylor as a musician. Love how he explains and makes like medleys of songs to demonstrate the progression he's highlighting.
Fantastic video! The amount of work involved in splicing and tempo-shifting those mashups must have been immense, but so worth it. Chord recycling aside, I think Taylor’s genius (and yes, i think she is one) is in finding unique and memorable hooks that fit over these classic progressions. Her lyrics are relatable and often striking too, but her melodic sense is unmatched, while never being pretentious (unlike this comment 😬)
Bennett doesn't really say that. Clearly he has respect for Taylor but what I got from the video is that she repeats herself often. And that's her sound.
@@viktor_h787 the people who would care are those who know better songwriters and artists exist out there and aren't getting the recognition they deserve. While someone else can repeat the same chord progression 21 times and make it to the top 10. Not saying she's bad or lazy even, just that other people may also deserve that kind of recognition. I like Taylor Swift tho. She has some great music
@@happygilmore8321 yeah but you cant force the people to discover said great songwriters. it either happens or doesnt happen, so we might as well not shit on the ppl that are currently in the spotlight
I love your videos but this video has quickly become such a calming presence for me, something about your voice and how the video is arranged. Was super anxious today and this really helped.
I appreciate how much work you put in this video!!! I love Taylor and I’ve been working on playing some songs on piano and this makes things so much easier. Not to mention the mashups and editing. Thanks for this (:
This is a great video, thanks for being so thorough and informed. I do agree that the lyrics are why we keep coming back to her music, but for her there is also an element of performing the songs. She often plays her own instruments, there are so many words to all her songs lol and she’s also performing with her entire self. There’s only so much room for mistakes this way, and allows her to mash the songs together easily when singing live
Thank you! Very cool! It’s like chocolate chip cookies have certain ‘main’ ingredients but can taste quite different depending on the person (or company) that makes them. She makes sweet songs because she has a solid base recipe and then her lyrics/vocals are the different added ingredients or toppings.
Taylor swift favorite chords IV I V vi Midnight rain 2022 Breathe 2008 I don’t wanna live forever 2016 We are never ever getting back together 2012 Wonderland 2014 All you had to do was stay 2014 Bad blood 2014 Anti-hero 2022 Because it start on 4th chord, gives us a sense of momentum. We need to get back home vi IV I V Key: Bb major Gm Eb Bb F A place in this world 2006 Snow on the beach 2022 You’re not sorry 2008 Haunted 2010 Sparks fly 2010 Marjorie 2020 Better than revenge 2010 Christmas must be something more 2007 Sets aeolian feel I vi IV V (the doo-wop changes. the 50s progression) Key: C major C Am F G Its time to go 2020 Me! 2019 Ronan 2012 White horse 2008 The best day 2008 New years day 2017 Teardrops on my guitar 2006 Sweeter than fiction 2003 Tim McGraw 2006 Illicit affairs 2020 I wish you would 2014 Last kiss 2010 Everything has changed 2012 London boy 2019 This is why we cant have nice things 2017 Stay beautiful 2006 Blank space 2014 I V ii IV (believe chord progression. Che r- believe) Key: G major G D Am C Wildest dreams 2014 Sad beautiful tragic 2012 Speak now 2010 Superman 2010 Afterglow 2019 The way i loved you 2008 Fearless 2008 Invisible 2006 You belong with me 2008 Bigger than the whole sky 2022 I know places 2014 Only the young 2020 Treacherous 2012 Beautiful eyes 2008 Daylight 2019 King of my heart 2017 Getaway car 2017 Tied together with a smile 2006 I V vi IV Key: c major C G Am F Epiphany 2020 All too well 2012 Cornelia street 2019 We were happy 2021 Champagne Problems 2020 Teardrops on my guitar 2006 Out of the woods 2014 The archer 2019 I knew you were trouble 2012 Clean 2014 This love 2014 Christmas must be something more 2007 Change Crazier 2009 Bye bye baby 2021 Should’ve said no 2006 Cold as you 2006 Mean 2010 Eyes open 2012 Love story 2008
I needed to see this video to recognize WHY I enjoy Taylor's music so much, and you're right, these are all chord progressions that lodge in my head in such a way that I never DON'T have a taylor swift song milling around in there. It makes the lyrics easier to memorize, too. I loved the way you handled key change transitions and time signature differences in the mashups. I thoroughly enjoyed this video.
Can we just appreciate the fact that this guy took the time to go through Swift's WHOLE DISCOGRAPHY? And not just to casually have it as background music, but to be listening carefully to each song, looking for similar chord progressions? At 200+ songs (according to one of the comments here - I didn't count for myself), that's gonna take an incredibly LONG time (speaking partially from personal experience). Huge props to this guy for his dedication!!!
There's a song by the Mountain Goats where the entire first verse just goes: "This is a song with the same four chords I use most of the time When I've got something on my mind And I don't want to squander the moment Trying to come up with a better way To say what I want to say" I think there's a lot of wisdom in not putting too much effort into the process of messing with the tune when you just have to get something out of you.
Brilliant video! David could you break down melodies of popular artists? (Bob Dylan, Taylor Swift, Sting, etc.) Your chord progression breakdowns are really interesting, but just as interesting and intriguing (I would assume) are melodies.
Interesting piece and your comment at the end, that TS is simply using a reliable foundation for her story-telling is very true. They may have similar chords but they certainly don't all sound the same! (By the way, you're picking-up a lot of low-freq. stuff on your mic - you might try a bit of roll-off).
Wow. All I can say is wow... what an amazingly compiled and edited video. Thoroughly explained the use of each of the chord progressions which was amazing, and the mashups of each of the songs that use the chord progressions were absolutely beautiful. Genuinely incredible, appreciate the hard work. Wish more people put this much effort into their videos, it's definitely something to admire!
Any chance you could also share a list of the I IV and I IV vi IV songs? Always looking for more of those as they are good chord progressions for beginning ukulele students (since C, F, and Am are some of the first chords they learn) Love your work!
because she reuses the same progressions it makes her one of the best artists to learn guitar from! it’s how i learnt the basics, and it’s really rewarding because instead of spending so much time learning one song you know how to quickly play 10 !
Great timing for me, seeing this, as I just created a cover of Love Story which has 1564 in the chorus but also other progressions in the verses, refrain and bridge. And a massive key change at the end.
I love how Bennet never criticizes Taylor Swift for her repetitiveness, he presents a neutral video with respect for her music. Also, since he doesn't criticize her, he's left all the fun for me!
The first thing I thought of when you showed the #5 progression was "That's the Axis loop, but starting at a different point" and then you showed #4 which was that same progression but starting on another chord. It became quite obvious what the #1 would be. It's really quite remarkable how many songs can be harmonized with simply the 1-5-6-4 chords. Congrats on this video by the way. I think it will prove to be one of your most popular uploads, but it must have driven you half mad getting all the bits together and then syncing up the various album covers. Well done!
i think one of the reason why she used repetitions chord in her discography is because whenever she writes a song, she IMMEDIATELY goes to those chords cause of the sense of familiarity and “comfortability”. When she felt comfortable to use that, the hands are on autopilot and she can focused her energy and creativity on the melodies, lyric, storyline, structure, while all remembering how she felt, what mood to represent, and basically the whole other packages that made the song (even with same chord progression over and over again) make each songs feel different and authentic.
In case this hasn't been mentioned yet - your mic is picking up a lot of low frequency energy from the key action on your piano. Might be sound transmission happening from the piano through the floor to the mic stand, in which case a good shock mount would help. Even if that's not the case, I'd put a high pass filter at 150Hz on your vocal recording.
Amazing, just came across this mooching around you tube as l lie in bed unwell. I am a very very basic piano player but this is making me want to play! Fantastic stuff!
Loved this video! And what I found interesting is that very few of my favorite TSwift songs were mentioned here, so I guess I like her work best when it strays from her norm a bit. But of course there's a lot of songs in here I still enjoy
Cardigan caught my ear, it got me doing some analysis to figure out what what’s going on. Eb Major, with the verses going ii V IV V, no I until the chorus. Later the vi is used oddly, sometimes vi V IV.
Thank's for this massive effort you put into these videos! I have an video idea: There is a long tradition of these 'story-telling songs' in pop music you mentioned at the end of your video. All the classic song writers have a few 5min+ songs with a simple chord progression looped throughout. Newer examples I can think of are eg by Father John Misty or also The National (Not in Kansas)
To me it will always come down to melody and lyrics. Those chord progressions are simple and extremely common but there are so many songs that use the exact same progression and have entirely different melodies and feel. Lyrical and melodic phrasing to me is where the true magic of music shines through. I really like your channel and I'm also a big fan of Rick Beato's channel but sometimes I feel like he's borderline disrespectful of "simple music." He'll go on rants about it being "boring" to the point that I'll start to get a little offended because I like this type of music and I write this type of music. I never get that vibe from your channel. Great job David. (I'm not triggered in the least... 🤣🤣)
I have to agree with you that Taylor swift is more about story than chord changes, but Joni Mitchell manages to do both at the sacrifice of radio airplay. I would love to see you analyze Sting
Get 20% off of my music theory for beginners course with code DAVID20 over at Artmaster: www.artmaster.com/course/music-theory?+video&+theory+david+bennett 🎼🎶
Thank you for making this video but I wish you hadn't mixed and matched the examples. It's hard to hear the full chord progression when you keep switching from one song to the next midway through. It's also hard to hear when more than one song is played at the same time.
What was that telegram thing?
@@schitlipz any telegram things you see on RUclips are scams!
@@DavidBennettPiano Oh. Sorry pal. Nice and quick reply. I like that. You're good at all the music stuff. Thanks for some of the things you're helping me figure out. Ok. Later.
@@sunblock8717 I disagree
He was literally playing it on the piano, and the renditions of all the songs were beautiful
Please keep doing these
the mashups are so beautiful!! Honestly this video was so well done and edited perfectly
😊😊 thanks!
Right after I read your comment, I paid extra attention to the audio editing. It was right around 4:00... talk about bad timing! (I mean the deep rumble stuff... probably I wouldn't have even noticed it if not for the just reading the comment about great editing. This isn't a complaint about the rumble (it didn't bother me), just noting a weird coincidence of timing while reading g the comments. Plus, I had to pause the vid to prepare myself for the 3 truly overused chord progressions... perfect time to write my own comment...EDIT: ah, the rumble is during all the Nord recordings, I think. Maybe check for this in the future.
Honestly though,David has done an absolutely wonderful job with this
@@GizzyDillespee dude no one cares
@@DavidBennettPiano was that just a way to get around copyright strikes?
This actually turned out to be a demonstration of how much the melody makes the song.
I second the lyrics being the key selling point of her music. I think the variety of styles and layers of textures she and the musicians she works with are able to bring in with instrumentation also helps keep her music fresh. Also, great job on the mashups.
I agree with all of that.
I also think she focuses deeply on the rhythm of the vocal as well as the melody. I would imagine the chords - initially sketched out on piano or guitar - are secondary in her writing process to the lyrics and the means by which they're delivered. I doubt that she writes to backing tracks very often (I think I remember an interview regarding "Out of the Woods" that attested to that - because that was a Jack Antonoff backing track that Taylor then wrote to - which was unusual for her).
Anecdotally - when I've tried to write songs melody-first* I tend to find the chord progressions naturally end up pretty simple - a lot of 2, 3, or 4 chord loops and consisting of only I IV V and vi. I can jazz it up with substitutions, but that can easily start stepping on the the vocal. And in pop music there's no bigger crime than stepping on the vocal.
*I typically write "harmony first" - which I think is pretty common of "rock" and "jazz" musicians and less so of "pop" musicians. But by writing that way and trying to craft the melody to fit the chords it's a lot easier to end up with "special" chord changes.
^^ this
Yes, the lyrics are important to many of her fans, but one thing that was overlooked here was Taylor's utterly amazing sense of melody. Melody, and strong melodies at that, are a huge key to making memorable songs that people fall in love with. Her variety in melody makes songs which happen to have the same progression sound distinctly different harmonically.
@Hazel Allison As a percentage, the songs she has "written to track" are pretty small. Taylor's real musical brilliance is her melody composition, and she is still doing that even if someone else crafted a backing track. On 1989, "I Wish You Would" has an awesome vocal melody hook, and she composed that. And it would be no different if she was in a band.. other members coming up with various instrument parts. I think she really enjoys writing with others because it is fun. Even when she takes a song she essentially wrote herself (like Blank Space .. pretty much) to a producer, there's a ton of fun to be had adding all the instrumentation etc.
And why would anyone put any more efford in, as long as it sells. Never change a running system. And that's why pop music is mostly very boring
A lot of people mention Swift's lyrics, which are definitely very good most of the time, but I actually find her melodies her most enjoyable parts. The fact she can weave such diverse melodies and emotions over such generally simple chord structures is one of her strong suits. She also does have nice ways of mixing things up with the way she plays the chords (often incorporating some kind of drone note, or adding 9ths or sussing chords). Also, increasingly, and in part thanks to her collaboration with Jack Antonoff, her arrangements and harmonies are very interesting, and lend themselves very well to repeat listens.
Edit: For instance, All Too Well, Out of the Woods and Should've Said No are very different sounding songs with completely different energies, even though they use the same chord progression.
100% and absolutely correct, and what I said in my comment. I can't believe David didn't point this out in the video. Her musical genius without doubt is her outrageous gift for melody. Almost anybody can pick up a guitar and play a simple progression, but coming up with dozens and dozens of beautiful hook melodies is a LOt more challenging. "Forever and Always" is an absolute masterclass of melody. As is "Blank Space". It is great melodies that will make millions of people fall in love with your songs/music. Ask John Williams.
Thank you so much for appreciating her melodies. It's what i've been trying to point out as a fan of her while explaining why i love her music so much. Repeated chord progressions, yes, but you can tell most of the times that her songs are different from each other (with a few exceptions from lover area, i think)
Couldn't agree more. Her genius lyrical talent is only exceeded by her ability to find beautiful melodies amongst such well used chord progressions. I find this video somewhat simplistic because there are no mentions of her great middle eights or the way she moves around within the 4 chords that always seems to work.
@@TheflyingkiwiRC Oh yeah her bridges are goated, great point! How You Get the Girl is a great example. It's just the same 1-5-4 progression, but has such an incredibly tasty and different feeling melody over it. Loving all the points y'all are making in this thread, keep em coming!
I think working with Jack Antonoff too much ruins her melodies. Her self-written songs are best.
I think these chord progressions also elicit a pretty strong emotional reaction which is why they’re so effective
Much of modern pop has something in common with old folk songs or nursery rhymes. The harmonies are so predictable and comforting, but a bit too childlike or even boring to those of us that grew up in a different era. That said, Taylor must be greatly talented to keep finding something new and interesting to say over chords we've heard millions of times.
@@AutPen38
I was never a listener to her song and belong to Gen Z, but I agree.
I listen mostly old pop songs from 70s and 80s simply because of how creative their overall making of that music.
Taylor is pretty lazy at this
expression and delivery too
@@TrevorParsnipsnah
Hearing all her songs mixed together so beautifully made me so emotional 😭 You are absolutely right about these chord progressions being a familiar "bed" for her lyrics and stories to lay on. That is why so many like me always come back to her music. It's ever-changing but always feels like home 🥰
your mashups here are really beautiful!
as a huge swiftie, I was amazed at how many times some of these have been used
great video!
don't you feel like a fool when you realise your favourite musician is just recycling the same shit over and over again?
The first time you played the 4 chords of her most used progression (I V vi IV), my mind automatically filled in "... speaking words of wisdom, let it be."
Amen!
As did my mind lol
Me too!
Yeah, a progression is just a backbone. The melodies make the song. Let It Be is a beautiful melody. And Taylor is a first class melodist.
I swear sometimes the internet just reads my mind
I’m not even a big Swift fan but I love this, it shows how even if her genre has changed over the years she still writes similarly to her old country music
Musically, she's boring AF. And yall call it, keeping her unique style. Good one. I'll remember it the next time I want to insult-without-insulting some artist for being very, very, very limited & repetitive. "Oh, she's so loyal to her own style & vision" wink wink.
Without saying I like it or dislike it, I'll say that I'd be hella bored if I were the artist. I feel the same way about 12-bar-blues artists, or reggae 2-bar bands. Dontcha wanna try something else? Especially Swift, who can do just about anything she pleases and retain fans. Try some wacky new chords, collaborations, instrumentation, beats,... I know she's a Beatles fan. Let's look at all the experimentation they did. John would have hit himself in the head with a rock if he had had to keep playing Love Me Do music, and Paul is always trying something new.
@@jcarty123 Musically everything pop is boring. She is an artist targeting teens/young girls as her audience and in that category I have mad respect. She has limited grasp of musical concepts, plays her own instrument and seems open in regards to the fact that she's not a musicians musician, this is all I can ask of a pop artist. Most of them surround themselves with incredible musicians and give little to no credit. Also, in her Demographic (Young/Teen girls), she is in a powerful position of providing consistent music to people who DONT understand theory. All of us on this channel have a higher than average understanding of what goes into making music, people who just listen to Taylor Swift have no idea she's reusing chord progressions.
@@Etat7 Nice tone, very nice try, I like it.... so.... I do feel sorry to point out that you're still in the position of having to defend a s--- sandwich. "everything pop is boring" - TODAY. Which gets us to the discussion of how pop since the 2000s got fundamentally less varied. Suffice to say: Even teenage girls used to demand more. Beatles, Elton John, Zep, Clash, Nirvana, even Michael Jackson - all writing for teenage girls, all tried to make each track different from the last.
@Mitchell Brown So does that mean you think bluegrass musicians don't have their own style? Jerry Garcia and Tony Rice sound identical to you or what?
This just gave me the sudden urge to learn every single Taylor Swift song on piano.
Won’t take very long
@@hugobeswick3558 that's where you're wrong! even if the chord progressions are similar, the melodies and lyrics are very versatile and unique to their own songs
I appreciate the subtle effort to make these medley transition nicely between each other. That's how you know you care about the music, becuase you want it to ound nice even when you're making a point.
Thank you for the way this was presented. I feel like I’ve seen these types of videos before where the person calls this type of pattern “lazy and bad writing” because of the repeated chord progressions. But this was very educational and respectful of Taylor’s craft, which I appreciate so much.
Anyone who says it's lazy and bad is just wrong. A chord progression is just the harmonic backbone of a song, the melodies, rhythms and instrumentation and arrangements create a unique song. And Taylor is a genius melodist.. melody is where it's at. Nobody, and I mean nobody, does it better than she does.
It may not be bad, but it is lazy and leads to predictable melodies.
@@guitarcontestthrowaway7809 if you think her melodies are boring and predictable you’re clearly unfamiliar with her music
@@guitarcontestthrowaway7809 agreed
@@guitarcontestthrowaway7809 you think you have a clue but you don't.
The entire Red album was written the with C G Am F chords (not in that order, but only those chords were used). That album is completely versatile and is a great example how four chords can change so much
Edit: I meant 1-5-6-4 chords, not C G Am F
I remember learning to play guitar because of Taylor Swift and her Fearless album has a lot of D A Em G chord songs, easiest way for me to learn guitar with my favorite songs of her that time 😍
actually if I remember correctly, Red was mostly in the key of E. So E A Bb and C#m. there may have been a song or two in C (all too well maybe), but saying that C G Am and F were the only chords used on the entire album is very not true.
@@kayajones7629 actually I meant that if you play all the songs on the guitar, you can capo it for some songs and it'll all end up using those four chords. For example, you can capo your guitar on the 4th fret and play those chords and the result would be Red
By the way- this is called the I- V- vi- IV progression; it's relative to whatever key the song is set in
Versatile? More like generic. 🤷♂️
The chills I get every time a new group of songs is played.
😃😃
i think a very cool thing of hers is that she can hold on to a chord for a long time. many people go through the progression very quickly, but she usually holds each chord in the progression for a long time, making the melody kind of more satisfying. that's why she doesn't need that many weird or varied chords, because her melodies already do so much within each single chord
I’ve been arranging covers of 13 songs from each of her albums (did 13 Days of Red last year for the re-recording release) so thanks for saving me a lot of time going forward 😂 Also the mashups are a great example of how she could go about performing more than 10% of her output for the Eras tour. 👏
Can you imagine if she did huge mashup/medleys like this on tour 😱😱 Amazing 😭
@@MJ-he1hf i remember when she did a medley of back to decemeber/apologize/you're not sorry during her speak now tour and i loved that arrangement, especially with the strings.
Interesting to note is that her 4th and 5th most common progressions (vi-IV-I-V and IV-I-V-vi) have the same chords in the same order, they just start the loop in a different place.
It's also the same as her most used chord progression. It's just the axis of awesome chord progression but with different starting points.
It’s so weird when I heard the I V ii IV chord progression by itself, I instantly recognised it and it made me feel like home.
As soon as I heard it, I thought of Getaway Car and Wildest Dreams, which are my two favorite TS songs haha
I think it's her most recognizable chord, at least for me anyways. I heard it and started blasting out all the songs that came up after.
For her #1 chord progression, I didn't actually recognize it until Love Story.
As a huge fan of what some might consider weird music, here’s a takeaway I have: All of these chord progressions are strictly diatonic. There’s nothing weird about them. That makes them feel comfortable and familiar, and easy to listen to.
Contrast that with songs like Bliss by Muse, which is in C minor for the verses and switches to C major for the chorus, or The Cure’s song End which has a G minor, G major, F sus2 chord progression. Chromatic and adventurous chord progressions like that intentionally interrupt the flow, change the mood, and shake your foundation, and probably would not be appropriate for storyteller songwriting like Taylor uses, simply because it would be distracting.
True! Im not a fan of her music, but i listen edm music mostly, these chord progressions are edms base of emotion, and im happy with it
She also uses unconventional chord progressions on occasion which are only unconventional when used on occasion. Not exactly the same thing but the reason her two 5/4 songs (tolerate it and closure) work so well is because they break from convention and use the time signature to convey a very specific message - the cognitive dissonance of unappreciated love or a situation in which the narrator is barely holding back her anger
It's worth noting that she uses some chromatic chords too (like in Lover or Sweet Nothing); they're just not among her most common progressions.
this doesn't make any sense, especially considering how a lot of folk and popular songs are written in modes (like Mixolydian or Dorian). You can write songs in non diatonic way it has nothing to do with interrupting the flow
@@merna5685 modes are diatonic, you have to go outside the key to be non diatonic. There's 7 diatonic modes in any key.
When I taught myself to play guitar, all I played was Taylor Swift songs because I could play so many of them with the few chords I knew. Definitely an interesting topic for a video! It brought me back to that for a minute
A student of mine told me that she has a friend who only knows 4 chords and played the same 4 chords for an hour and figured out 20 Taylor songs.
Also, you should really do a video on Bob Dylan's chord progressions. A lot of people say that his lyrics are better than his music and while that is largely true, he's quite clever with his chord choices and very often they act as the song's main hook, more than the melody. You can recognize several Dylan songs just by the chords.
yup
wow! any particularly noteworthy examples?
@@gamer966 Simple Twist of Fate, Idiot Wind, Just Like A Woman, Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands, Hurricane, Dark Eyes, As I Went Out One Morning, It's Alright Ma, This Wheel's On Fire and many more.
@@NeonRadarMusic thanks a lot! have a nice day
@@NeonRadarMusic perfect!
your mashups give me major goosebumps. as someone who’s grown up with taylor, they hit so hard. someone must be cutting onions in here
thats what i came to say, why do i wanna cry lol
I think the ability to create an interesting melody is one of her very strong points. It's so catchy, even with just using a common chord progression. Freaking 41 different sequences of melodies and lyrics written in just 2 chords progression and all of them sounds different but still nice and catchy. Not many artists can pull that stuff. Buying her album is not something I regret. It mostly contains 15++ songs (over 60 minutes) and all of them sound nice.
Bingo. Her melodies are her genius.
Agreed. It's incredible really how she does it. Her last album hasn't got a bad track on it. They're all catchy.
@@noradosmith When you (and others) say "she", are you suggesting she writes her own melodies? There's like half a dozen people credited each on these tracks.
Her melodies or the melodies of her composers? 👀
@@jasonfanclub4267 What?!? Do you know anything about Taylor? She composes virtually all her songs herself. More than 50 of her songs are solo written (including an entire album), and include some of her BEST songs like Red, Forever and Always, Love Story, and Blank Space (yep, she wrote that on guitar, Max Martin just changed into a synth pop track and helped with arrangement). When she collaborates, she usually does most of the vocal melodies, on songs like Out Of The Woods, Wish You Were and Getaway Car.
Also, 3 of the 5 chord progressions are just shifted versions of each other (the chord sequences are identical, it's just which chord you start on that changes). So you could play 39 of the songs using the exact same loop of chords, you would just need to shift the start of your lyrics phrasing.
Oh boy, the Swifties are going to love this. Might take their mind off of Ticketmaster.
I think everybody should be thinking about how awful Ticketmaster is, not just Swifties
As a European Swiftie I have no connection to Ticketmaster whatsoever and since she’s probably not even doing a European tour this time I care even less. She’s just not popular enough here which is a shame but I still think Americans overstate her worldwide popularity
I think David is very aware of the Swifties jumping onto this vid..
Might be interesting what Swift inc. is going to do. The vid is for educational use and friendly to artist and fans.
Like the video, the comment’s intended to be neutral, read into it what you will. Swifties aren’t exactly known for their nuanced online behavior, or understanding of issues. Hard to say how many knew of Ticketmaster’s history with Vedder or Pearl Jam until they “discovered” it. Or whether they’d stick around for David’s summary at video’s end or how they’d take it. Swift’s music is perfectly fine in my book, but I’m more impressed by her storytelling and production. Her fandom is another story, but that may be more a product of it growing up with social media. I feel Swift could do more to tame its more toxic elements, however.
@@CommanderGinyujust wanted to drop in and say this comment aged like Milk 😂
Yo, give this to Taylor Swift, she's gonna need it for all the mashups in the Eras Tour 😂
she just did a mashup in Buenos Aires. I'm hoping she'll do more!
i remember learning all too well on the piano for the first time and being like "cool..." and then i learned champagne problems and i was like "woahhhh these are the same chords!!" and then learning cornelia street... "THESE ARE STILL THE SAME CHORDS!!"
i do realize i chose the most similar-sounding songs out of all her songs with this chord progression (what can i say i love a good cry) but i love how she uses melodies, lyrics, beats and other parts of the song to make songs with even the most basic chords extremely intriguing and different from each other. great video!!
I've never paid much attention to her music finding it all pretty much interchangeable with every other song she's done. And here's one big reason why: they actually ARE interchangeable.
It's not even the chord progressions themselves, but that these same variations of the same four chords (the use of the vi or ii being the only real difference) are so heavily relied upon by the same artist again and again and again. Add the same old generic "sad girl" lyrics and what is there really left to listen to?
Thanks for being so humble, modest and benevolent ♥️
Thank you!
Awesome video. I feel like the reason Taylor uses so many simple chord progressions stems from the fact that she focuses so heavily on lyricism and telling a story in her songs which can be difficult to portray on top of having complex chord progressions
In the past, there were "storytelling songs" that also had chord structures that wandered off in interesting directions (e.g. The Beatles), but I don't think modern audiences have the attention spans that listeners had in the past. We all just want simplicity served up these days. Fast food microwave pop music. There's nothing wrong with it, per se, as the world has changed since the old days, but one has to wonder where pop goes next. I can't see any reason why we'd go back to using 8 or 10 different chords in a song, when the message can be understood with 3 or 4.
So it’s fair to say T Swift is bad at guitar then right? Because she’s a lyricist first?
Danny Elfman wrote very complex music for his band Oingo Boingo but his lyrics were really good as well. Though I have to say that his songs that are stronger musically are weaker lyrically and vice versa.
@@digitaldirtbagg David is a good musician and teacher, I wish I could get lessons from him. He knows how songs work and their structure regardless of who he’s talking about. He’s never bashed an artist but understands things from their point of view. He’s one of my favourite RUclipsrs but unfortunately he attracts a lot of pretentious music chords with one armed arguments, just like Taylor being bashed for the ‘same chord progression’ when many artists will do the same including people from the rock and punk genre.
Just because she has good lyrics doesn't give her an excuse to make simpler and more repetitive and less creative music. You can have good lyrics and interesting chord progressions I don't see why not.
Let's also remember that Taylor has a discography of over 200 songs at this point. Most artists are lucky to ever reach that number. Of course there's gonna be stuff that gets repeated.
That's what I was thinking. This video was well-presented though.
The Beatles had well over 200 songs (in only 7 years), but I don't hear them constantly repeating themselves by using the same chords and the same (autotuned) sound.
@@keith1222 Autotune's kinda a problem with modern music, but Taylor's a really bad example of complaining about autotune cuz she hardly ever uses it.
It's a LOT of repeating, not just some stuff.
@Ro Kale Vocal effects ≠ Autotune. She uses very little autotune for studio recordings, and never uses it live.
I really like your conclusion to this, that chords are colours and painting and liking the same colours isn't always a bad thing. I think Taylor Swift does it well because while I knew some of her songs had similar progressions, I had no idea about the amount that shared the exact same ones (and I've been a big Taylor Swift fan since my teenage years when I first heard Love Story). They sound similar but different enough, and I enjoy that, honestly. It made me curious about an album that's just one singular progression but each song is done differently, trying to make it sound unique despite sharing that progression. I don't know if anyone has done this - and I'm definitely not the right person to do this!!! - but I would be really interesting in it if they have.
I like this idea alot, I'm probably going to steal it for a project. But I'll let you know when it's done haha
replying here so that i’ll get notified cause i’m genuinely curious and excited about the project :)
@@91fallings Same :)
Honestly, it’s quite understandable that these are her favorite chords if you remember her background is playing a guitar and all that country music.
Those chords (C, G, D, Am, F) are basically the most popular chords and kinda the first chords any person learning a guitar would in fact learn. Lots of rock music (played with a guitar obviously) is played basically with only those chords, with a few additions here and there.
It all makes sense. She isn’t some Jimi Hendrix type of a person, she’s a lyricist first, so it makes sense that her music might be seen as quite basic in terms of chords.
UPD: corrected guitar virtuoso's name
Exactly and those 5 chords are also physically easy to play and mess around with. When was the last country or pop music song that had a Bm7 in it?
Not only because of the lyrics. For someone that likes to improvise on a base (not taylor's case), those chords are simple and easy to play with
@@locustkllr F physically easy to play???
@@memeteam2692 lol
@@locustkllr I have no idea and I'm not about to go looking for it (I hate country) but I'd be willing to bet Kieth Urban has played it.
this is inspiring. it always feels a bit like cheating anytime i use a chord progression more than once
I’d say it is
@@badgasaurus4211 well cheating seems to contribute to Taylor’s massive success so… why wouldn’t you cheat lol
@@badgasaurus4211 how
@@badgasaurus4211 it's statistically impossible. There are only so many progressions and songwriters write hundreds of songs (usually all in genre)
@@badgasaurus4211 why?
Ok, I've never really been a Swiftie, but the mashups you made were so beautiful that it's got me interested in digging into some of her back catalog to see if I can get more into it.
Great video!
I thought I was the only one who pays attention to the chords Taylor uses in her songs lmao and immediately whenever she has a song with the chord progression IV I V vi, I fall in love with it because it's just beautiful. I also love it when she uses IV vi V ii like in New Romantics, it's just a pretty chord progression.
Kinda silly you thought you were the only one listening to the chords used by one of most prolific American singers of this generation.
@@Mermelephant music training is cut from education and not a lot of theory analysis is done on pop music. while you might be right in any absolute sense (there's more than a handful) the relative number of people allen might encounter in life or social media is objectively tiny.
the thing is, realistically, no one cares about chord progressions, unless you're really into music. as someone who grew up with music, I pay attention to even the tiniest details, and with Taylor, I pay attention to her chords usage. You might think it's silly but throughout my life, I have never met someone who is as interested to chords as I am. But I do agree that she is one of most prolific American singers of this generation; I can't argue with that.
These mashups made me cry. Goes to show just how effective her melodies are.
You've Just sensitive
@@jayazoriginal4879 It's nearly impossible for anyone with a heart to listen to Ronan without at least wanting to tear up though.
and here I was, wondering who could like this trash, most generic and boring kind of music...
Hearing all of these repeated chord progressions makes me think that this is what makes so many of her songs feel familiar and like instant loves when she creates new albums and new songs. These chords are the building blocks that create the whole vibe and atmosphere we associate with her.
These mashups give me chills. I need full versions
I know I already said it but it deserves it's own comment alone: The vocal editing showing the progressions and songs and how they work together are brilliant! Beautiful! Amazing!
Even as a budding music theory snob (and marginal TS fan), I've never detected all these chord progressions she uses so much--I think it's a bit of a testament to how she's able to make them sound so different with her lyrics, vocal melodies and rhythms, etc. It's cool; thanks for the video!
if you haven't detected that, you are obviously not a music theory snob dude sorry
Exactly, it's her MELODIES that are her genius, and she creates so many memorable and beautiful ones. That's what maked people fall in love with her songs... melody is always the strongest suit in music IMHO.
As soon as I realized that #5 was just a cyclic reordering of the I-V-vi-IV, my immediate reaction was, "Oh, man, are they all like that? Is that the whole list?!"
It's not. But, with the exception of that ii in the "Believe" progression, they are all _permutations_ of I-V-vi-IV.
I think to me her 2nd most common progression I V ii VI is what I most associate with her music. It might just be that they're the songs I listened most to other than her axis of awesome progression
It feels like coming home. I can’t describe it any other way
Same! A lot of my most favorite songs from her are in the list.
Lots of artists do exactly the same, virtually all Noel Gallagher songs are Wonderwall with a different melody. What you say is so true, if the listener likes something then they usually want more of the same.
chills mate listening to the compilation of Taylor songs clipped together
“Now you come around here just to break me like a promise / so casually cruel in the name of being honest.”
That’s such a good lyric that it’s going to get people regardless of how many times you’ve heard it before
That’s not what she sings. It’s “and you call me up again just to break me like a promise”
I get so hyped for every new video of yours!! Also, no copyright issues for these songs??
Oh, rest assured, there are copyright issues 😅
@@DavidBennettPiano Lol I figured. I don't know much about copyright but I know Taylor Swift's songs are all in a weird place being owned by her and her old record studios.
I'm guessing -- extract the vocals from the recording, trim to a short segment, then change them to be in the same key and tempo for the mashup. Voila! Algorithm thwarted.
@@richarddoan9172 lol. Honestly makes sense considering the format of the video.
Can’t blame her - those progressions are so in our ears - they just will work. Thanks for this Video (I never followed her)
I really did enjoy the mash ups, I've had my fill of Taylor for the day haha!
Thank you for the wonderful explanation and tips of what chords are best to use.
Great study of popular chord progressions. I didn't know many of these songs, and may have gained more respect for Taylor as a musician. Love how he explains and makes like medleys of songs to demonstrate the progression he's highlighting.
Fantastic video! The amount of work involved in splicing and tempo-shifting those mashups must have been immense, but so worth it.
Chord recycling aside, I think Taylor’s genius (and yes, i think she is one) is in finding unique and memorable hooks that fit over these classic progressions. Her lyrics are relatable and often striking too, but her melodic sense is unmatched, while never being pretentious (unlike this comment 😬)
Agree!
Love 😃
I dont know a thing about music theory but the proof in the mashups are amazing
This teaches us music, not that she is limited. A Chord progression contains infinite songs.
Bennett doesn't really say that. Clearly he has respect for Taylor but what I got from the video is that she repeats herself often. And that's her sound.
No she’s pretty limited
@@LS-us1jm limited or not, she the 3rd biggest artist in the world on spotify so who cares
@@viktor_h787 the people who would care are those who know better songwriters and artists exist out there and aren't getting the recognition they deserve. While someone else can repeat the same chord progression 21 times and make it to the top 10. Not saying she's bad or lazy even, just that other people may also deserve that kind of recognition. I like Taylor Swift tho. She has some great music
@@happygilmore8321 yeah but you cant force the people to discover said great songwriters. it either happens or doesnt happen, so we might as well not shit on the ppl that are currently in the spotlight
Glad you changed the title. Honestly makes the discussion more civil I think.
all of those mashups were so beautiful and actually got me emotional 😭😭
I love your videos but this video has quickly become such a calming presence for me, something about your voice and how the video is arranged. Was super anxious today and this really helped.
All those progressions tend to form nice comfy loops. They set a mood for the story in the lyrics. Seems to work just fine.
This vidio is edited so beautifully and perfectly!
I appreciate how much work you put in this video!!! I love Taylor and I’ve been working on playing some songs on piano and this makes things so much easier. Not to mention the mashups and editing. Thanks for this (:
The editing of this video is absolutely impeccable, it must've taken so long and it TOTALLY paid off
This is a great video, thanks for being so thorough and informed. I do agree that the lyrics are why we keep coming back to her music, but for her there is also an element of performing the songs. She often plays her own instruments, there are so many words to all her songs lol and she’s also performing with her entire self. There’s only so much room for mistakes this way, and allows her to mash the songs together easily when singing live
Dear David, I would like to tell you I’ve discovered one of my favorite videos on RUclips. Thanks
Thank you! Very cool! It’s like chocolate chip cookies have certain ‘main’ ingredients but can taste quite different depending on the person (or company) that makes them. She makes sweet songs because she has a solid base recipe and then her lyrics/vocals are the different added ingredients or toppings.
I learned so many Taylor Swift songs when I first started teaching myself guitar because of this! It’s honestly awesome.
Taylor swift favorite chords
IV I V vi
Midnight rain 2022
Breathe 2008
I don’t wanna live forever 2016
We are never ever getting back together 2012
Wonderland 2014
All you had to do was stay 2014
Bad blood 2014
Anti-hero 2022
Because it start on 4th chord, gives us a sense of momentum. We need to get back home
vi IV I V
Key: Bb major
Gm Eb Bb F
A place in this world 2006
Snow on the beach 2022
You’re not sorry 2008
Haunted 2010
Sparks fly 2010
Marjorie 2020
Better than revenge 2010
Christmas must be something more 2007
Sets aeolian feel
I vi IV V (the doo-wop changes. the 50s progression)
Key: C major
C Am F G
Its time to go 2020
Me! 2019
Ronan 2012
White horse 2008
The best day 2008
New years day 2017
Teardrops on my guitar 2006
Sweeter than fiction 2003
Tim McGraw 2006
Illicit affairs 2020
I wish you would 2014
Last kiss 2010
Everything has changed 2012
London boy 2019
This is why we cant have nice things 2017
Stay beautiful 2006
Blank space 2014
I V ii IV (believe chord progression. Che r- believe)
Key: G major
G D Am C
Wildest dreams 2014
Sad beautiful tragic 2012
Speak now 2010
Superman 2010
Afterglow 2019
The way i loved you 2008
Fearless 2008
Invisible 2006
You belong with me 2008
Bigger than the whole sky 2022
I know places 2014
Only the young 2020
Treacherous 2012
Beautiful eyes 2008
Daylight 2019
King of my heart 2017
Getaway car 2017
Tied together with a smile 2006
I V vi IV
Key: c major
C G Am F
Epiphany 2020
All too well 2012
Cornelia street 2019
We were happy 2021
Champagne Problems 2020
Teardrops on my guitar 2006
Out of the woods 2014
The archer 2019
I knew you were trouble 2012
Clean 2014
This love 2014
Christmas must be something more 2007
Change
Crazier 2009
Bye bye baby 2021
Should’ve said no 2006
Cold as you 2006
Mean 2010
Eyes open 2012
Love story 2008
the intense effort put into this video is astounding- as a major swiftie thank you!!!!
How can you use the same 5 chords and still make it sound new and fresh every time you apply it to a song. Taylor!!!!!!! How?!!!!
Top 0.05% taylor swift listener on wrapped this year here, thank you for putting this together.
The mashups made me cry btw
Dude the mashups are masterfully done - your quantization skills are insane 👍
I needed to see this video to recognize WHY I enjoy Taylor's music so much, and you're right, these are all chord progressions that lodge in my head in such a way that I never DON'T have a taylor swift song milling around in there. It makes the lyrics easier to memorize, too.
I loved the way you handled key change transitions and time signature differences in the mashups. I thoroughly enjoyed this video.
The sheer volume of songs she has written and released I had no doubt that she would repeat chords
Can we just appreciate the fact that this guy took the time to go through Swift's WHOLE DISCOGRAPHY? And not just to casually have it as background music, but to be listening carefully to each song, looking for similar chord progressions? At 200+ songs (according to one of the comments here - I didn't count for myself), that's gonna take an incredibly LONG time (speaking partially from personal experience). Huge props to this guy for his dedication!!!
Ikr!! He even included songs like Crazier, Only the Young, the Christmas songs, and Beautiful Eyes! Massive respect
There's a song by the Mountain Goats where the entire first verse just goes:
"This is a song with the same four chords
I use most of the time
When I've got something on my mind
And I don't want to squander the moment
Trying to come up with a better way
To say what I want to say"
I think there's a lot of wisdom in not putting too much effort into the process of messing with the tune when you just have to get something out of you.
Brilliant video! David could you break down melodies of popular artists? (Bob Dylan, Taylor Swift, Sting, etc.) Your chord progression breakdowns are really interesting, but just as interesting and intriguing (I would assume) are melodies.
I want one for Danny Elfman (his songs from Oingo Boingo)
Interesting piece and your comment at the end, that TS is simply using a reliable foundation for her story-telling is very true. They may have similar chords but they certainly don't all sound the same! (By the way, you're picking-up a lot of low-freq. stuff on your mic - you might try a bit of roll-off).
Wow. All I can say is wow... what an amazingly compiled and edited video. Thoroughly explained the use of each of the chord progressions which was amazing, and the mashups of each of the songs that use the chord progressions were absolutely beautiful. Genuinely incredible, appreciate the hard work. Wish more people put this much effort into their videos, it's definitely something to admire!
Any chance you could also share a list of the I IV and I IV vi IV songs? Always looking for more of those as they are good chord progressions for beginning ukulele students (since C, F, and Am are some of the first chords they learn)
Love your work!
because she reuses the same progressions it makes her one of the best artists to learn guitar from! it’s how i learnt the basics, and it’s really rewarding because instead of spending so much time learning one song you know how to quickly play 10 !
Great timing for me, seeing this, as I just created a cover of Love Story which has 1564 in the chorus but also other progressions in the verses, refrain and bridge. And a massive key change at the end.
I love how Bennet never criticizes Taylor Swift for her repetitiveness, he presents a neutral video with respect for her music. Also, since he doesn't criticize her, he's left all the fun for me!
The first thing I thought of when you showed the #5 progression was "That's the Axis loop, but starting at a different point" and then you showed #4 which was that same progression but starting on another chord. It became quite obvious what the #1 would be. It's really quite remarkable how many songs can be harmonized with simply the 1-5-6-4 chords.
Congrats on this video by the way. I think it will prove to be one of your most popular uploads, but it must have driven you half mad getting all the bits together and then syncing up the various album covers. Well done!
this was so fascinating to watch as someone with very little knowledge of music theory. thank you!!!
We need an Axis of Awesome medley of Taylor Swift songs
Great demonstration of the 4-Chord-Songs!
Thanxxx
Actually, you could do a medly of all the the songs using I V VIm IV in any order.
😂
actually you did it!
Ok - I should have know that it ends up with the 4-Chord-Progression. Pop Music... 😂
This video actually brought tears to my eyes. I didn't realize how much I love Taylor's songs.
i think one of the reason why she used repetitions chord in her discography is because whenever she writes a song, she IMMEDIATELY goes to those chords cause of the sense of familiarity and “comfortability”.
When she felt comfortable to use that, the hands are on autopilot and she can focused her energy and creativity on the melodies, lyric, storyline, structure, while all remembering how she felt, what mood to represent, and basically the whole other packages that made the song (even with same chord progression over and over again) make each songs feel different and authentic.
In case this hasn't been mentioned yet - your mic is picking up a lot of low frequency energy from the key action on your piano. Might be sound transmission happening from the piano through the floor to the mic stand, in which case a good shock mount would help. Even if that's not the case, I'd put a high pass filter at 150Hz on your vocal recording.
This video is more of a Taylor Swift mashup than a chord progression video. Kudos on the mashups!
Now I want full length Swift + Swift + Swift mashups
Amazing, just came across this mooching around you tube as l lie in bed unwell. I am a very very basic piano player but this is making me want to play! Fantastic stuff!
Loved this video! And what I found interesting is that very few of my favorite TSwift songs were mentioned here, so I guess I like her work best when it strays from her norm a bit. But of course there's a lot of songs in here I still enjoy
Amazing video thanks! I want a recount including vault tracks!! (make sure to use Taylor's Version songs!)
Cardigan caught my ear, it got me doing some analysis to figure out what what’s going on. Eb Major, with the verses going ii V IV V, no I until the chorus. Later the vi is used oddly, sometimes vi V IV.
youtube's #1 mashup! the best mashup!
Thank's for this massive effort you put into these videos! I have an video idea: There is a long tradition of these 'story-telling songs' in pop music you mentioned at the end of your video. All the classic song writers have a few 5min+ songs with a simple chord progression looped throughout. Newer examples I can think of are eg by Father John Misty or also The National (Not in Kansas)
To me it will always come down to melody and lyrics. Those chord progressions are simple and extremely common but there are so many songs that use the exact same progression and have entirely different melodies and feel. Lyrical and melodic phrasing to me is where the true magic of music shines through. I really like your channel and I'm also a big fan of Rick Beato's channel but sometimes I feel like he's borderline disrespectful of "simple music." He'll go on rants about it being "boring" to the point that I'll start to get a little offended because I like this type of music and I write this type of music. I never get that vibe from your channel. Great job David. (I'm not triggered in the least... 🤣🤣)
Nice work! I always watch your videos, cuz I find they help me with my guitar journey! Keep making videos!
How amazing is it that such a small number of sounds can lead to every song
I have to agree with you that Taylor swift is more about story than chord changes, but Joni Mitchell manages to do both at the sacrifice of radio airplay. I would love to see you analyze Sting