mmHg - Nobody But You

7/8 is usually thought of as an aggressive time signature — for the likes of harder jazz, metalcore, and Stravinsky. But here I'm using it in a ballad. The melody playfully bounces and trips over itself in 7/8, blushing and giggling around its crush while trying to be smooth with racing thoughts and too much to say. Still trying to find the right words and vocalist.

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posted by dacre (5 comments total)

I like this-- it's optimistic and catchy! Almost more of a 14/8 than a 7/8, but I like the long, soaring lines.
posted by Pallas Athena at 3:39 AM on January 7

Yep, "optimistic" sounds about right. I'm trying to imagine it with vocals now, definitely re-post if you come up with something, I'd be curious to hear both versions.
posted by dubold at 4:22 AM on January 7

The way you've set up the melody across the dropped beat of the odd time signature, it sounds like someone is trying to get a word in quickly before being cut off. I hear it as "But, wait..." or something similar, where "but" is on 7 and "wait" is on the one.
posted by grog at 11:59 AM on January 7

I completely love this. If it had some nice female vocals it would probably be one of my favourite songs.
posted by rubber duck at 1:36 PM on January 9

Yayyy, thanks everyone. You all have pretty much the exact idea I'm going for. I will definitely repost when I finish more on it. :)

As far as lyrics, there's the obvious fitting of "nobody but you" into the last line, other than that I'm still toying around. The rapid melody in the prechoruses is planned to be incomplete thoughts, new thoughts starting with each bar and only being sort of finished before a new one comes in, etc. (Possibly to the extent of deceiving the listener into expecting a rhyming syllable on a nonexistent 8th beat). Should be interesting.
posted by dacre at 7:36 AM on January 10 [1 favorite]