Hey, quick heads up:
I built a mini-system called The Vault Method that helps you decode songs in 30 minutes and actually retain what you learn (instead of forgetting progressions a week later like I used to).
It's got the complete framework, reusable templates, and a video walkthrough. If you've ever felt like you're learning songs without understanding them, it's worth checking out.
Not your thing right now? No worries.
Today's email shows what systematic analysis revealed about one Justin Bieber song.
Hey music maker!
Productivity expert Ali Abdaal has a video where he breaks down why he's obsessed with systems.
He explained how most people collect information but never connect it.
They go through the act of just reading books, watching tutorials, and taking notes just to lose that information six months later, or sooner.
His solution is a system that turns all of this knowledge into something that provides positive outcomes for you. For music, that’s usually achieving specific goals like improving songwriting or instrument performance skills
I really enjoyed that video and connected with it deeply because I've been that person with music. I spent a lot of time learning and relearning things.
After learning about systems through videos from Ali Abdaal and reading a book called The E-Myth Revisited, I created a few personal music systems, including one to extract gold from a song and steal like an artist.
REAL SONG. REAL PROGRESSION
💿 "Daisies" by Justin Bieber
Key: A♭ Major
Time Signature: 12/8
Core Progression (intro and vs): A♭ - Fm - D♭ - E♭ (Nashville Numbers: 1 - 6m - 4 - 5)
Chorus: Db5 - Eb7sus (3x), Db5 - Eb5 (Nashville Numbers: 4 - 5)
Note: This is a simplified version of the song’s progressions. I’ll go deeper into the progressions next week.
💡 IDEA OF THE WEEK: Analysis Is A Power Tool
On the surface, song analysis might feel like dull academic homework.
But it’s a useful and fun system for learning what to listen for.
When you analyze systematically instead of just playing through songs, patterns emerge that would be difficult to spot otherwise.
Here's what analyzing "Daisies" revealed.
Insight #1: Time signatures as an emotional tool
Most pop songs are in 4/4. "Daisies" is in 12/8, which creates a shuffle feel that creates built-in forward momentum before you even hear the chords.
You've likely heard this time signature before its used in "Rosanna" by Toto or "Bury a Friend" by Billie Eilish. It's not exotic, but in an era of endless 4/4 pop, it stands out immediately.
Creative takeaway: Change your rhythmic grid and access a whole new feel, even with simple progressions like the 1 - 6m -4 - 5.
Insight #2: Tonic placement
The one chord (A♭) appears in the intro, verse, and bridge. But it's completely avoided in the chorus.
The one chord naturally functions as "home base". If you remove it you lose the sense of arrival or stability.
This happens in the chorus, which uses just the 4 and 5 (D♭ to E♭), cycling over and over. Combined with power chords and distorted guitar, the chorus feels more aggressive and unresolved.
Using just two chords.
Creative takeaway: Strategic chord avoidance can create drama. You don't need complex harmony for that.
Daisies uses a simple 1 - 6m - 4 - 5 progression with intentional harmonic choices to create a variety of emotions.
That's what systematic analysis teaches you to see, and with practice, you will spot these types of insights quickly.
Four years ago, I analyzed songs here and there and never did much with the information. I lost faith in this process because I didn’t really know what to look for
That changed when I stopped treating analysis like homework and started treating it like building a creative toolkit. Now every song I sit with for 30 minutes becomes part of a library I can actually pull from.
That's a completely different outcome than drilling chords until they kind of stick.
The difference is having a system instead of just raw information.
I turned it into the Vault Method.
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