Sugar Ahead!

October days can begin to seem grayer. The leaves, the ground, the sky all herald change. The Canadian novelist, Joy Fielding, calls October “the least dependable of months.” Yet, in October, we are bombarded with a single enticing message: Halloween! Sweets ahead! So now’s just the right time to sample Sugar, a bouncy arrangement of Maroon 5’s chart-topper available in BigTime® Piano Hits or digital download. The first four measures are a synopsis of the entire song: C Major, E minor, A minor, G Major. The move from the supertonic (A minor) directly to the tonic is a smooth twist. You expect to hear the dominant between. That move, plus the added sevenths, give this tune a sophisticated feel. The “sugar” is tempered by a touch of “blues,” just enough to give the melody some melancholy and emphasis. As Dr. Faber demonstrates, the last four measures settle the basic chord pattern on the descending bass line. Let’s join another novelist, Rainbow Rowell, who invites “October, tuck tiny candy bars in my pockets and carve my smile into a thousand pumpkins.”