The Weakness of Taylor Swift's Songwriting

Taylor Swift keeps reusing the same tired, simple chords over and over, more or less writing variations of the same song - and this video exposes her weakness as a songwriter.

[cinnamonnotmylastname]

Swifties will say that this is actually a rabbit hole and that we're not intelligent enough to understand her overuse of the same chord progression

[cyriloboco]

My mom was listening to the new taylor album while i was in the other room. I literally thought that it was one very very long song and not the whole album. My mom then tells me "all her songs sound the same"😂

[hugging_a_namujoon]

That explains why most of her songs sound the same to me.

[OGseoulite]

This video aged really well after seeing the reception of TTPD

[vincentdaniels]

as a beginner to intermediate at best guitarist this video made me feel like a creative musical genius

[ishathakor]

i've actually run into an issue several times where i was playing one of her songs on the piano or guitar (just the chord progression) as accompaniment to practice singing and i've accidentally switched over to a completely different one of her songs without realizing it. that's how similar her songs sound to me. i would get to the end of the song and realize i'd started out playing a completely different song and accidentally switched over and didn't even know it.

[RatFacedJasper]

Today I learnt that I do not possess a musical ear.

The comparisons just sounded of noise to me.

[santysvocals]

This is not showing taylor's weakness in songwriting, maybe rather shows weakness in her composition skills. Still I think all the songs have different aspects thematically, in production, the vocals, etc. I love her songs, but I understand someone can get tired of her reapated chord progression, but theres no way you can call her a bad musician just for this.

[rhondab]

I just find it amazing that she and many others attract fans excited by listening to what is essentially the same song garnished with different fluff over and over and over.

[RD-zjvc]

She probably has an "if it ain't broke don't try to fix it" mentality.

[jamesdeich]

It goes beyond chord progression. Taylor writes sentimental songs, bit never genuinely sad songs. When she writes about Romeo and Juliet it is not a tragedy anymore. Not sad. Her breakup song are sentimental and sometimes angry, but never really sad, and deeply hurt. Nothing has the sadness of "drivers license" or many Amy Whinehouse songs. Her emotional range is also reduced.

[just-so-were-crystal-clear]

I've never been impressed by Taylor Swift's lyrics, too stream of thought describing what she is seeing, but I guess I know why many of her songs sound the same to me once I go past production.

[blorpxd]

1:15 the way I knew what the next chord sounded like before he played it is crazy

[skyhideaway]

i really don't get the hype around taylor swift. i'm not a music expert but her lyrics are also so mediocre most of the time, and swifties act as if she is the reincarnation of shakespeare. there are a few good lines that i can think of but overall, her lyricism isn't that great. there are a lot of artists who are really good songwriters and lyricists but don't get half the popularity and praise taylor does.

[shaewall]

I wish there were more videos like this. Not to bash Taylor Swift, but to show that Taylor isn’t the end all, be all artist that her fans built her up to be. I find it so disrespectful when people say that Taylor is the best songwriter ever or even one of the best. Many artists before her have written songs with more substance and more meaning, such as, war, segregation, racism, pain, illness, thankfulness...and yet almost all of her songs are about her breakups or people not loving and adoring her.

[Msgabbb]

This was eye opening and quite hilarious because her fan base loves to make the argument that she’s so great at writing when we all know her voice is mediocre at very best, so the songwriting is the only thing they have going for them. Love this video.

[allure]

Wait till the Swifties figure out that these examples are not all of it. They'll have a melt-down.

[markmchenry]

I gave a like to this video because it articulated a point and backed it up with facts. I think Taylor is better at working hard and marketing herself as a pop star than she is as a musician. Maybe she can play and sing much more complex music but doesn't because it might be harder to sell, but until I hear her do so I will continue to listen to Eva Cassidy, Joni Michell and other great female artists.

[therandomname]

Funny how he didn't criticize her lyrics once, just the chord progression(s)

[deanjonasson]

Never a fan but, being an older guy, I'm not Taylor's target audience. However, I witnessed something interesting a few months back. I was at a karaoke bar (celebrating a friend's Birthday). It wasn't a closed bar so there was a 50/50 split between young (20-somes) and old (40-50-somes). Lots of participation from both groups and a fair bit of audience participation when a classic song was sung. However, on three separate occasions, various singers got up to perform Taylor Swift songs. They struggled with the vague melodies and idiosyncratic phrasing and, in each case, talk-yelled the lyrics while laughing in embarrassment. If it had happened once, it would have been fairly unremarkable but the repeated examples had me thinking, "Maybe these work as songs because only Taylor can sing them." (Ryan Adams covered Taylor's "1989" album to mixed success. To me, it sounds like Springsteen covering gum commercial jingles.)  
There are a few of her singles that will endure, I suppose, especially those with fun videos. The fact that so many young, potential singer-writers love Swift probably means there will be a renaissance in 15-25 years. (Think of all the recent 'country' artists who sound like Fleetwood Mac.)
Positive: Taylor is productive, hooky and assertive; she's really helping out record stores.
Negative: Her songs are samey and all seem to be about her ex-boyfriends; they sound excessively caffeinated at my local grocery store; her last album came out with four different covers but the same songs!
p.s. The blending of "All Too Well" and "Champagne Problems" sounded surreal. As more songs got layered, I felt like I was grocery shopping!
p.p.s. Can you do the same thing with Bob Dylan now?