A fascinating tour of the musical techniques behind Taylor Swift's music.

She's the only artist to win the “Album of the Year” Grammy four times, has the most #1 albums by a woman, is the highest-earning female musician ever, and is perhaps the last pop superstar in a shrinking, fragmenting music industry. Taylor Swift is an artistic force to be reckoned with-but what accounts for the colossal, unprecedented success of her music?

Many have credited Taylor's lyrics, business savvy, and careful brand management to explain her popularity. Surprisingly little attention has been given to the music itself-its compositional strategies, innovative harmonies, and irresistible hooks. In A Sound We Hadn't Heard Before, composer Brigid Kaelin blows the doors off of Taylor's music, showing how it achieves its unmistakable power. Kaelin clearly explains scales, rhythm, harmony, and other key concepts for newbies while offering fresh insights for even the most knowledgeable fans, including:

- the ways that Taylor transcended the “Nashville sound” early in her career
- the psychoacoustic principles underpinning her music
- how the structure of “Ophelia” evokes Shakesperean verse
- how the piano in “Eldest Daughter” dramatizes the song's themes

Witty, brisk, and continually surprising, this book will be revelatory for all Swifties regardless of musical experience.