SOP - The Oeuvre of Taylor Swift

0:00 - Common Elements are Introduced

Harmony
Melody

3:30 - Theme & Variation
4:10 - T-Drop or Swiftionian Suspension

4th to 3rd melodically
drop to tonic or submediant

5:00 - "Love Story" (to 6:05)

music drops out vs. music builds up
adds excitement

6:50 ~7:10 - Change It Up
8:00 - Dominant (V) to Tonic (I)

modulation up one scale degree
Key of D to Key of E

9:00 - Prokofiev

Romeo and Juliet - Ballet
Happy Ending

10:50 - Unexpected Additions
11:46 - Suspended Note

Phantom of the Opera

12:15 - Drop out sounds and build them up again
12:45 - Counterpoint Bass
13:50 - Variations

Harmonic
Melodic
Rhythmic

19:45 - "RED"
22:00 - Mozart

Jupiter
25:10 - TDrop

Artist: Bob Tozier
School: North Allegheny

Notes:

Panoply created a podcast series called Switched on Pop.

Play in new window

In this series, it was stated:

" Pop music surrounds us, but how often do we really listen to what we're hearing? Switched on Pop is the podcast that pulls back the curtain on pop music. Each episode, join musicologist Nate Sloan and songwriter Charlie Harding as they reveal the secret formulas that make pop songs so infectious. By figuring out how pop hits work their magic, you'll fall in love with songs you didn't even know you liked."

What do you think about second first podcast? Can you find any other songs that work like this? Are there any compositional ideas that you would like to try?

Comments

Amy Muhlenkamp from: North Allegheny - posted: September 18, 2017
I agree that when some instruments drop out and then suddenly build back up, that is the climax of the song. Another song that has a key change for the climax is Waving Through a Window. I also tried using counterpoint bass for one of my songs where the main chorus goes down but my harmony goes up. I definitely like that technique.

Shane Stewart from: North Allegheny - posted: September 19, 2017
The T-Drop made me think of things other people put in all their songs. A few I thought of are: 1. Jeff Lynne' adding two tympani notes before an important musical change. 2. Roy Orbison singing a note up an octave towards the end of a song. 3. Dave Gilmour sustaining a very high note at some point during just about every guitar solo. 4. Bob Seger starting to sing an important note a half step above where it should be and then going down to the correct note.

Eugenia Lee from: North Allegheny - posted: September 25, 2017
I was listening to some music this weekend, and when I got to the end of "Feeling" by Justing Bieber and Halsey, I heard an extra measure added in, so that the chorus could be a bit varied and not boring.

Maeve Smith from: North Allegheny - posted: October 4, 2017
Another song with a key change in the melody is From Eden by Hozier. I don't particularly like key changes but they can definitley add flavor to a song.

Anthony Hockenberry from: North Allegheny - posted: October 12, 2017
Taylor Swift has a thing she has in almost every single song. Most artists have their "thing". Even some genres have there "thing". From metal music with fast bass drum notes to country with the side guitars, to electronic music with the pulsing bass and leads.

Charles Hart from: North Allegheny - posted: October 31, 2017

A cool song with a key change in it is Myage by Descendents. It's really unique because you don't normally hear key changes in Punk Rock

Yosen Wang from: North Allegheny - posted: October 31, 2017
The Chainksmokers have a pretty famous "pop drop" in Close, as well as in All We Know.

June Bracken from: North Allegheny - posted: November 1, 2017
Don't Stop Believing by Journey has a key change towards the end which adds excitement, similar to Taylor Swift's song, Love Story.

Maggie Johnson from: North Allegheny - posted: November 1, 2017
Sent to Tozier

sharon dong from: North Allegheny - posted: November 2, 2017
"I See the Light" from the movie Tangled has a key change in the last verse. It makes it sound more dramatic, and I used this song for my second composition but didn't have enough time yet to work with the key change.

Natalie Daninhirsch from: North Allegheny - posted: November 2, 2017
One of my all time favorite key changes happens in the song Fly, Fly Away from Catch Me If You Can. There's this dramatic build up modulation and into a higher key. It's powerful.

Angela Lu from: North Allegheny - posted: November 2, 2017
Another song with a drop is "Don't Let Me Down" by The Chainsmokers and Daya. I agree that these drops add excitement to the song.

Marshall Henry from: North Allegheny - posted: November 2, 2017
I learned in this popsong that the musical themes behind the words are quite simple and can be done by anyone with a computer. One song I found that realtes to this is Eye to Eye from the Goofy Movie. It sounds wierd, but it will get you in the pop hook if you listen to it too much.

Maria Constantine from: North Allegheny - posted: November 3, 2017
Journey-Don't Stop Believing has a key change, or pop-drop, near the ending of the song. These usually happen at the end of songs for more effect. These def add a lot of flavor and style to the song.

Steven Lu from: North Allegheny - posted: November 3, 2017
Another song with a key change up a whole step was "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" by Elton John which I noticed while playing the halftime show during Marching Band.

Mess Tajewski from: North Allegheny - posted: November 6, 2017
A song that I remembered when thinking about dramatic key changes is Michael Jackson's "Man in the Mirror," which uses a dramatic pause and dropout of instruments before modulating the melody up to a higher key for emphasis.

Kayla Grasak from: North Allegheny - posted: November 8, 2017
I enjoy the key changes. A song with a famous key change that I enjoy is "I will always love you".

Jason Ginocchi from: North Allegheny - posted: November 8, 2017
Dying in your arms by trivium has a key change in the final chourus of the song which is cool because key changes are pretty rare in metal.

Trevor Fenk from: North Allegheny - posted: November 10, 2017
The song "Overture" has a very good generic keychange that makes my soul happy :)

Kirthana Kannan from: North Allegheny - posted: November 10, 2017
I believe that Taylor Swift is one of the best songwriters of this generation, and the fact that she pulls off overlaying every section of the song on top of each other in Red to make it complete is fantastic. It is a well thought out process that goes unnoticed.

Margaret Johnson from: North Allegheny - posted: October 28, 2018
One of the most amazing things that I realize with the suspended note, or a pedal tone, is that it is that ground you can put your feel on and hear the rest of the piece. It has a foundation while also having its own life with the rest of the instruments.