How to Avoid Being a Robot Like Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift writes the same song over and over again.
At least according to David Bennett, a pianist, composer, and YouTuber who took the time to go through Swift’s entire catalog and break it down by chord progression.
In this video, Bennett demonstrates Taylor’s 5 favorite progressions. Here are the Top 3:
I vi IV V – Used in 17 songs
I V ii IV – Used in 20 songs
I V vi IV – Used in 21 songs
Yes, she’s used just 3 chord progressions for a total of 58 songs in her career. So, what are we to make of that?
Human or Robot?
Social media had a blast with this revelation. Haters used it as an opportunity to tear down Taylor Swift as a songwriter.
That’s silly.
There’s a finite number of chord progressions that exist, and even few that “sound good” to Western music sensibilities.
I mean, there are only 12 notes in western music (that repeat over and over in octaves), and every song you’ve ever heard from Free Bird to Anti Hero were written with the same 12 notes.
Can an AI write a song with one of these standard chord progressions? Of course.
What makes Taylor Swift one of the greatest songwriters of her generation is her ability to breathe humanity and nuance into the same chord progression 21 different times, such that each song is distinguishable and unique.
Out of the Woods, Champagne Problems, and All Too Well are very, very different songs, despite resting on the exact same underlying structure.
What’s left for humans?
In a world of AI generated art and AI chat bots that can write entire articles at journalistic standards in literal seconds, knowing great structures is no longer enough to produce great work.
When I coach TEDx speakers in my program Conquer the Red Dot™, I give them a structure for crafting their “idea worth spreading” statement.
To ACTION so that OUTCOME.
Every single one of my clients has used that structure to book, write, and deliver the TEDx talk of their dreams.
And yet, each of their statements are completely unique.
Knowing the structure of a great essay, speech, conversation, negotiation, painting, business contract, is no longer in the realm of “uniquely human” activities.
Let the AI give you the structure.
Then put your humanity on top of it. Nuance, stories, emotion, intention.
That’s how we stay human in an AI world.
