Every time I’ve turned on the TV the last few weeks it seems like this ad featuring Broadcast 2000 has been on (you can listen to the full song here). I didn’t really have much choice but to tab out its ukulele riff.
The time signature for this piece is a little strange. The first bar is in 3/4 time (the notes are counted 1 & 2 & £ &) and the second bar is in 4/4 time. It’s made to seem even more unusual by three against four phrase in the second bar (there are four notes to each beat but the repeated phrase is three notes long).
And the time signature changes don’t stop there. When the lyrics kick in, the second bar of the riff is shortened to 3/4 before going back to 4/4 for the rest of the verse. The chorus is three bars of 3/4 then one 4/4 followed by four of 3/4 (the second chorus is different again with the last bar in 4/4). I hope you’re taking notes.
Now, we Americans do not have this ad. And what a shame. This is a nice catchy little tune, and the fellow in the ad is nice too ;)