Charlie Puth Breaks Down Music Theory Behind Taylor Swift’s Similar-Sounding Melodies

In a fresh TikTok post, Charlie Puth cut through the noise surrounding Taylor Swift's new album. His "Professor Pluth" clip shed light on why songs often share musical DNA. With just twelve notes to pick from, he points out that matching sounds pop up more than you'd think.

"Lately there has been a lot of discussion about when two songs have similar melodies," Puth told viewers. "There's only 12 notes in a scale … so when you're writing a new song, there are bound to be similarities to an older song."

Swift's latest album, The Life of a Showgirl, sparked discussion when fans caught echoes of past hits. Some heard The Jackson 5's "I Want You Back" in her track "Wood." Others picked up bits of the Jonas Brothers' "Cool" in the titular track.

Puth's video zeroed in on what he calls the "four-note threshold." He stated, "Sometimes artists will accidentally interpolate each other. It's almost never done maliciously. We have to really stop demonizing this when it happens."

When Swift sat down with Zane Lowe on October 7, she took the buzz in stride. "I welcome the chaos," she said, as reported by Us Magazine. "The rule of show business is, if it's the first week of my album release and you are saying either my name or my album title, you're helping."

The bond between these musicians runs deep. Swift's nod to Puth in the lyrics of "The Tortured Poets Department" ("You smoked, then ate seven bars of chocolate / We declared Charlie Puth should be a bigger artist") pushed him to drop "Hero" in May 2024.

Despite the criticisms, Swift's album's success speaks volumes: 2.7 million copies flew off shelves day one, while vinyl sales hit 1.2 million in just 24 hours. Fans can check out The Life of a Showgirl by visiting Swift's website.