Songwriting of Taylor Swift: Stable Vs. Unstable Tones | Matching Lyrics & Melodies to Emotions

Download Your Free Songwriting Handbook Now: https://berkonl.in/3wSocKI
Earn Your Songwriting Degree Online with Berklee: https://berkonl.in/3wNQbv0

In this video from the Songwriting of Taylor Swift, a Berklee Online course written and taught by Scarlet Keys, you’ll learn how to effectively match your lyrics to a melody that truly portrays the message and emotions you are trying to convey in a song. Keys explains that the tone used in a melody needs to make sense for the lyrics you are singing, so listeners can connect and build empathy. Many times songwriters do this intuitively, but it is still important to think about melody as tone of voice. In the video, Keys discusses how Taylor Swift often uses the second degree of the major scale, which provides a sense of instability. She likely uses it intuitively, matching the emotions she is feeling. But in songwriting, the most meaningful words—like the most meaningful notes—draw the listener's attention. In the key of C major, the most stable notes are C, E, and G, which make up the I chord. These notes feel grounded and resolved. In contrast, notes like D, F, and A, along with the leading tone B, are less stable. They create a sense of tension, longing, or emotional complexity, adding depth and movement to the melody.

Learn more about this course: https://berkonl.in/4m0bAJU

ABOUT SCARLET KEYS:
Scarlet Keys is a professor at Berklee College of Music and a former staff songwriter for Warner Chappell. Keys’s songs have appeared on film and TV and garnered her a gold record. She has collaborated with artists such as Chris Stapleton, Eric Roberson, and Melissa Ferrick. Some of her students have included Lizzy McAlpine, Charlie Puth, Amy Allen, Ingrid Andress, and Betty Who. Keys is the host of the “What’s in a Song” podcast and the author of “The Craft of Songwriting: Music, Meaning, and Emotion.” She also describes herself as a world-class parallel parker.

About Berklee Online:
Founded in 2002, Berklee Online is the premier innovator and largest provider of worldwide music education, offering the renowned curriculum of Berklee College of Music at a fraction of the cost through award-winning programming and instruction. Contact an Academic Advisor today:
1-866-BERKLEE (US)
1-617-747-2146 (international callers)
[email protected]

  / berkleeonline  
  / berkleeonline  
  / berkleeonline  
  / berkleeonline  

Songwriting of Taylor Swift | Scarlet Keys | Lyric Writing | Creative Songwriting | Warner Chappel | Chris Stapleton | Eric Roberson |Melissa Ferrick | Sam Robins | Lizzy McAlpine | Charlie Puth | Amy Allen | Ingrid Andress | Betty Who | The Craft of songwriting | Music | Emotion