passing tones

we’ll hear them up close

sketch 1

As a new father, I’ve had a lot of late nights where sleep was simply not going to happen. This song started in a lost hour during one of those nights. I can remember wanting to stretch my fingers out, so I chose the low F on the guitar. In this piece, my index finger plays a pedal point with the chord’s root note on the 1st fret of the low E string (then skips up to the fifth of the d minor triad). The furthest stretch extends my pinky finger to the 5th fret, G string. The ostinato in the verse is essentially a big old F9 chord (sans the third and seventh) that walks into the d minor triad. The melody played above it suggests the vocal melody and crosses voicing at the middle and end of the ostinato. The tonal center of the piece is actually C, although it’s only referenced at the very end of the phrase.

I’m still trying to figure out what time signature(s) I’m playing in the intro and verse is/are. It seems to change once I start singing, but goes something like: three measures of 6/8 & one measure of 5/8. Once the vox comes in I think it all evens out but I don’t know yet… The chorus is good old 4/4 with a swing-version of the verse which leads to an angular reworking of the main theme.

This song is going to give me carpal tunnel syndrome…really soon.

(image was found on the Internet: scanned from an old science fiction novel. I’ve been staring at it while writing this tune- artist, unknown. if you know please let me so I can give them credit)