Connotation

Overview

This particular song was chosen because of a personal affinity to it, and not because it would make a particularly fun chart on its own. The song does not exhibit a wide range of instrumentation or sounds, and does not exhibit complex or varied rhythmic structures. It has a clear form, but it is a very standard and typical one of pop songs. The challenge is to use connotation in order to make this as interesting and as engaging as possible.

Preparation

The key focus we want to place on this piece of music in order to bring out its best qualities is its form, the narrative. We need to pay close attention to where the song feels tense or relaxed, and where detailed variations on recurring themes generates more interest. Since the song is mostly consisting of driving 8th notes rhythmically speaking, we need to make full use of pattern motifs to establish these ideas. Morever, because there is not a lot to work with in the song, rather than trying to adhere to some form of strict technical accuracy or attempting to cram instrument layers into the chart, it will place a priority on simply creating a casual style, where you can just "jam" out to the song.

The main pattern motif to utilize is the distinction between "driving" patterns and "walking" patterns. "Driving" patterns describe sequences of 8th chords such that many of the notes in a column are repeated, such as [13][13][13], which requires the player to lift their fingers/hands in order to hit them. "Walking" patterns are the opposite, where there are few 8th notes that are repeated in a column, and therefore do not require the lift to hit, such as [14]2[13]2[14]. Because of the physical lifting of the hands, players feel like they need to exert more energy to hit "driving" patterns, which makes "walking" patterns feel more relaxed by comparison. This will be the main mechanism by which tension and release occurs throughout this chart.

Analysis

From the very beginning, we see mostly "walking" patterns, with the occasional "driving" pattern during the guitar line, to indicate a generally relaxed feeling, except when the guitar has something to say. This establishes a foundation for the connotation technique described earlier, while also creating a contrast that makes the guitar feel "cool". The first highlighted section uses plenty of thick, wide chords to indicate the intensity of the section due to the droning guitar 8ths, but maintains the "walking" pattern motif to indicate that it is still light-hearted in nature. The light-hearted feel is important for establishing contrast in the transition leading up to the chorus in the second highlighted section. Notice that in this second highlighted section, the "driving" patterns appearing after the "walking" patterns is what builds the tension leading to the chorus.

The chorus is much less rhythmically interesting, so there are simply "driving" repeating 8th chords to indicate the tension of the climax while supplementing the difficulty. Note that during the green highlighted section (third highlighted section, starting around 0:53 seconds), we have now transitioned to patterns that are very clearly and almost entirely "driving", only changing notes to reflect the bass guitar movements and occasional accented melodic notes. Towards the end of the chorus, in the next yellow highlighted section (starting around 1:05 seconds), you will notice that the tension is starting to wind down, into a section that feels more relaxed. The first 4 beats of this highlighted section is a transition into the "walking" patterns. The patterns still exhibit the repeated 8ths that require lifts, but there is very noticable and dramatic left/right direction jumping in these patterns, to model and foreshadow the upcoming "walking" patterns, of which the left/right movement is a logical consequence.

The rest of the song continues in a similar fashion, maintaining the same themes and ideas according to its form. In the last chorus, indicated by the last highlighted section, we can see that while the section is largely similar to the other chorus sections, the variations in the song dictated variations in the patterns as well. For starters, the first 2 beats of each chorus uses symmetrical patterns with the exception of the [13] chord, except in the final chorus, which uses the [24] chord instead. The push to the right is warranted by the modulation (key change) that creates a brighter feel. In addition, the bass guitar line is now much more musically interesting and adds a lot of additional color, so the other changes in patterning and the hold notes that are included are meant to reflect that and direct the player's attention to it. There are some percussion variations as well, and the big chords that do not have 8th notes following them are meant to distinguish the impact of the crash cymbals and letting them ring out.

Conclusion

While it may not be the most interesting chart to play on its own, it at least achieved its goal, which was to take the song and highlight its best qualities, utilizing minimally obtrusive techniques to form a chart in a casual style that matches the music. This was accomplished mostly by understanding the different connotations between rhythmically similar patterns due to the way that they are physically hit.