The Standard

Trap soul starting in E minor and intentionally modulating into B minor for increased gravity, Hypnotic baseline Piano-led arrangement with sparse, repetitive minor voicings and descending movement, hypnotic spiraling verses Chest-driven female tenor vocal centered around E3–G3, convicted, declarative, and lived-in, never talk-singing, never bluesy or rock-leaning, Vocal delivery sounds like personal testimony spoken with certainty and restraint, The modulation to B minor deepens weight and consequence without changing vocal behavior or genre, Drums are minimal (kick, rim) to maintain forward motion, Guitar appears only as low texture, never leading, modern day soul sample, piano-driven arrangement in Em7 & em9 with a grounded, raw feel, Convicted in lead voice Emphasize Em7 and Em9 voicings in hook sections for tension and release, Use expressive chord progressions with Cmaj7, Am7, B7, including inverted chords, Chicago choir, cinematic

### Title: The Standard (Prelude) **[Tempo: Mid-tempo, warm, cinematic lo-fi piano. Minimalist, clean production.]** **[Verse 1]** Used to be steady, used to be light Used to be talking all through the night No screens, no static, just you and me The easiest version of history I remember the kitchen, the way that you laughed Before we were broken, before we were halved You were the standard, the blueprint, the goal Back when I trusted the light in your soul **[Chorus]** It was good, yeah, it was perfect Every single moment, I knew that you were worth it We were building a kingdom, we were setting the pace Now I’m just tracing the ghost of a face Yeah, the ghost of a face **[Bridge]** It wasn't a game, it wasn't a lie So how did the love just decide to die? You didn't leave a note, you didn't leave a key You just left the silence behind for me **[Outro]** It was good... Until it wasn't. (Piano glitches, minor key shift, fades into static)

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