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Swift writes her own music. She works with collaborators and producers but she writes her own music. Dessner sent her instrumental tracks that she turned into f

Swift writes her own music. She works with collaborators and producers but she writes her own music. Dessner sent her instrumental tracks that she turned into folklore (writing to track), it was similar with Antonof. This isn’t a marketing charade, she’s literally a songwriter first. She has included song-writing voice memos that show the progression of how she wrote certain songs on 1989 and the documentary “Miss Americana” clearly shows her songwriting process (as does this collection of clips from an AT&T promo she did for Reputation https://youtu.be/I4WlSnWtkt8 https://youtu.be/I4WlSnWtkt8). Liz Rose, who co-wrote some of Swift's earlier songs (including the much-loved, “All Too Well”), described the process of working with her as editing [1], something all of her other collaborators have said too. There are a lot of pop stars who get a writing credit for doing very little on a track but Taylor Swift isn’t one of them. If anything, she’s been quite clear that her success is directly tied to her songwriting. Her voice alone (especially as a teenager) wouldn’t have made her a star. It was her songs, paired with her voice and her personality that made everything work. [1]: https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/bp/swift-collaboration--liz-rose-talks-about-taylor-making-the-star-s-early-hits-220935530.html https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/bp/swift-collaboration--...

WalterBright 6y ago
There are a lot of rock singers whose talent isn't actually singing. Neil Young, for example. His songwriting and arrangements are so good one doesn't notice he doesn't have a good voice for singing.
- wombatmobile 6y ago
  > he doesn't have a good voice for singing. Not everyone agrees with that estimation Vocal Coach reacts to Neil Young - Old Man (Live) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppSF6JpdaKQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppSF6JpdaKQ Neil Young "Old Man" REACTION & ANALYSIS by Vocal Coach / Opera Singer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trE7YifD9Jc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trE7YifD9Jc
  - WalterBright 6y ago
    I'm not so sure that isn't just confirmation bias. Compare his voice to that of, say, A-ha's lead singer. Now that guy has a voice. The same with the lead singer of Emerson, Lake and Palmer. One reason Neil Young appeals to me is because he has an unremarkable voice yet succeeded anyway. Yah gotta respect that. I remember when Stevie Nicks burst on the scene. All the reviews were she had a lousy, raspy voice that nobody would like. But she soon won everyone over :-)
  - boomboomsubban 6y ago
    Young's voice suffers terribly from age, so I think both views are correct depending on which recording you're looking at. Pretty sure that live recording of Old Man is from his 1971 Live at Massey Hall recording, which is him near his peak.
    - wombatmobile 6y ago
      > Young's voice suffers terribly from age Not everyone would agree with that estimation. May 19, 2019 CONCERT REVIEW: Neil Young's entrancing night at The Fox https://www.inlander.com/spokane/concert-review-neil-youngs-entrancing-night-at-the-fox/Content?oid=17643374 https://www.inlander.com/spokane/concert-review-neil-youngs-...
      - boomboomsubban 6y ago
        I've seen several stars who started their career in the late sixties, and I'd say everyone of their voices "sounded great" while also being considerably worse than their debut period. I don't think even Neil Young would disagree here, I'm pretty sure he has openly discussed some of the vocal issues he had.
  - WalterBright 6y ago
    That song is a masterpiece, and he sings it well. But that doesn't mean the tone of his voice is great. It's just such a great song that we transfer that to his tone. A singer is stuck with his tone, no amount of training and technique will change it. Of course, it's my favorite NY song, too.

WalterBright 6y ago

There are a lot of rock singers whose talent isn't actually singing. Neil Young, for example. His songwriting and arrangements are so good one doesn't notice he doesn't have a good voice for singing.

wombatmobile 6y ago
> he doesn't have a good voice for singing. Not everyone agrees with that estimation Vocal Coach reacts to Neil Young - Old Man (Live) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppSF6JpdaKQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppSF6JpdaKQ Neil Young "Old Man" REACTION & ANALYSIS by Vocal Coach / Opera Singer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trE7YifD9Jc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trE7YifD9Jc
- WalterBright 6y ago
  I'm not so sure that isn't just confirmation bias. Compare his voice to that of, say, A-ha's lead singer. Now that guy has a voice. The same with the lead singer of Emerson, Lake and Palmer. One reason Neil Young appeals to me is because he has an unremarkable voice yet succeeded anyway. Yah gotta respect that. I remember when Stevie Nicks burst on the scene. All the reviews were she had a lousy, raspy voice that nobody would like. But she soon won everyone over :-)
- boomboomsubban 6y ago
  Young's voice suffers terribly from age, so I think both views are correct depending on which recording you're looking at. Pretty sure that live recording of Old Man is from his 1971 Live at Massey Hall recording, which is him near his peak.
  - wombatmobile 6y ago
    > Young's voice suffers terribly from age Not everyone would agree with that estimation. May 19, 2019 CONCERT REVIEW: Neil Young's entrancing night at The Fox https://www.inlander.com/spokane/concert-review-neil-youngs-entrancing-night-at-the-fox/Content?oid=17643374 https://www.inlander.com/spokane/concert-review-neil-youngs-...
    - boomboomsubban 6y ago
      I've seen several stars who started their career in the late sixties, and I'd say everyone of their voices "sounded great" while also being considerably worse than their debut period. I don't think even Neil Young would disagree here, I'm pretty sure he has openly discussed some of the vocal issues he had.
- WalterBright 6y ago
  That song is a masterpiece, and he sings it well. But that doesn't mean the tone of his voice is great. It's just such a great song that we transfer that to his tone. A singer is stuck with his tone, no amount of training and technique will change it. Of course, it's my favorite NY song, too.