Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen
Terminology used in the song
| Scaramouche | A character on Italian opera. He is generally considered to be a clown/fool (Theatrical Reference) |
| Fandango | A Spanish dance accompanied by guitars and castinets. Mozart opera “The marriage of figaro” has a fandango in it (Operatic Refence) |
| Galileo | An Italian physicist / mathematician / and astronomer from the 16th century (Historial Reference) |
| Figaro | He is a servant character from Mozarts opera (Operatic Reference) |
| Bismillah | Islamic prayer meaning in the name of “Allah” (Religious Reference) |
| Bielzebub | The devil second to Satan, The Arch angel, expelled from heaven (Literacy Reference -> from a poem called “Paradise Lost”) |
| Intro | Bars 1 - 5 | Soft Rock | B Flat and G Minor |
| Main Song: Verse 1 | Bars 17 - 34 | Ballad Style | B Flat and E Flat |
| Verse 2 | Bars 35 - 46 | Ballad Style | B Flat and E Flat |
| Guitar Interlude | Bars 47 - 54 | Hard Rock | E Flat |
| Operatic Section | Bars 55 - 95 | Operatic Style | A Major |
| Guitar Interlude | Bars 96 - 99 | Hard Rock | E Flat |
| 2nd Song (Verse) and Riff | Bars 100 - 122 | Hard Rock | E Flat |
| Recap and Coda | Bars 123 - 138 | Soft Rock | E Flat, B Flat and F |
Keywords
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| A capella | Unaccompanied vocals |
| Bends | Guitar technique in which a note is allowed in pitch but pushing the string up and down |
| Falsetto | Vocal effect mainly by males singing in a way high pitch |
| Feedback | Used mainly by rock musicians to produce a high pitch sound by placing a guitar pick up a microphone very close to the speaker, so that the original string sound is amplified as well as the sound to be sustained |
| Call and response | Solo singer is answered by a chorus singing a repeated phrase |
| Hook | Memorable part of a song, often repeated |
| Lick | A musical pattern used to form short solos mainly on guitar + piano to link phrases and move up and down on the register |
| Melisma | Many notes per syllable |
| Pick up | A small microphone in an electric guitar or other electrical instrument |
| Power chords | Use of open string to produce a heavier sound on guitars |
| Riff | A repeated short phrase like ostinato in a pop/jazz composition |
Processing Effects
| Technique | Description |
|---|---|
| Distortion | Overloading the speaker to create a harsh, fuzzy sound. Rock performers did this deliberately to achieve a rougher sound. Distortion can be created in a recording studio, through the guitar amplifier or by using a distortion pedal. |
| Flanging | Two of the same tracks are played together, but one of the tracks is slowed down, taking it out of sync with the first, creating a swooshing sound. |
| Panning | Panning allows producers to split and direct sound through the right or left of the stereo field. When panning is applied to recordings, different instrumental sections or parts of the music will be heard out of either the right or the left speaker. Panning is easy to identify when listening to music through headphones as the sound feels as though it is switching from one ear to the other. |
| Reverberation | Reverberation occurs naturally in large enclosed spaces such as concert halls or large churches. The music creates an echo which slowly fades. This effect can be artificially applied to a recording. Adding reverb to recordings helps to mimic the feel of a live performance. |
| Multi-tracking and Overdubbing | Multi-tracking, often in combination with overdubbing (recording another layer over previously recorded material), allows artists to record a rich and full texture in the music. It also allows singers or musicians to record their parts separately, listening back to previous tracks as they record the next one. When all the tracks have been recorded, they can be mixed together to produce a final track. Queen used 24 tracks to record ‘Bohemian Rhapsody. |
| Bouncing | This is when two or more pre-recorded tracks are combined together on to one new track. This frees up tracks for recording more parts. |
Performing Techniques
| Technique | Description |
|---|---|
| Bends | Guitar technique in which a note is allowed in pitch but pushing the string up and down |
| Vibrato | Shaking the finger which holds down the string on the guitar’s fretboard |
| Power Chords | Power Chords are created when the root note is doubled and the fifth notes of chord is played too. The third note of the chord is left out |
| Glissando | Sliding the finger that is holding down a string up or down on the fretboard after that string has been plucked, this creates the sound of sliding from one pitch to another |
| A capella | Vocal performance by a soloist or group of vocalists with no accompaniment |
| Antiphony | Antiphony is a form of dialogue between parts. Two parts or voices interact, irritating each other in quick succession. The melody is often passed from one part to the other |
| Falsetto | A male vocalist singing above his natural vocal range |
| Crash Cymbal | The crash cymbal produces a thin, bright, cutting sound. Part of a standard drum kit, the crash cymbal is a type of suspended cymbal |
Instruments
- Guitar
- Bass Guitar
- Drum Kit
- Vocals
- Piano
Bars 1 - 4 - Introduction Section
- Key Signature: B Flat Major
- Time Signature: 4/4
- the time signature changes to 5/4 in bar 3. This allows the music to follow the rhythm of the words
- There is no instrumental introduction (compositional technique)
- 4 bars of vocal a capella singing (performance technique)
- This vocal part was multi-tracked (recording technique)
- There is overdubbing in these 4 bars (recording technique)
- There are repeated notes in the vocal line
- There is syncopation (bar starts with a rest or tied notes)
Bars 5 to 16 - Features of the music
- Eleven bars of vocal harmony accompanied with with piano and cymbals (bars 12/13) and bass guitar (bar 15)
- There are changing time signatures
- The melody contains repeated notes and syncopation
- In bar 5 the piano enters playing g minor chord (triad)
- The piano plays broken chords
- In bar 8 on the words “I’m just a poor boy” backing vocals sing a counter melody
- In bar 10 the guitar chords chromatically fall by a semi-tone while the vocalist sings “easy come easy go”
- There is stereo panning in bar 11 on the words “little high little low” (left to right)
- There is word-painting in bar 12/13 on crash cymbals on the words “anywhere the wind blows” (called “Flanging” - “Flanging” means to record 2 seperate tracks of cymbals and then put the 2 tracks back together but out of sync)
Bars 17 - 34 - Verse 1
- Piano, bass, vocals and drums
- In the style of a ballad
- Key: B flat Major moving towards E flat Major
- Two bar piano introduction to verse 1
- In bar 17, solo voice enters with a lush or rich melody accompanied by piano and bass
- Melody range fits within an octave
- There are repeated notes within the melody
- The melody has syncopation
- Syncopated rhythms on the snare drum from bars 25 to 32
- Texture is homophonic
- There is a bass glissando at the end of bars 20 and 30
- There is a descending bass and left hand piano line in bars 23/24 and 27
- There are crash cymbals heard in bar 24. The crash cymbals is an example of word painting for “throwing it all away”
- In bars 30 and 31, it ends in iv-1, which is cadence (padgal cadence)
- Then it moves back the key of B flat Major in bars 31 and 32
Bars 34 - 46 - Verse 2
- 13 bars of solo voice with backing vocals, piano, percussion and bass guitar
- Electric guitar joins in after 8 bars
- It is a repeat of the music of verse 1
- Drums accompany from the start of verse 2
- Word painting: “Send shivers down my spine”, they use a bell tree
- The bass guitars are overdubbed in bar 42 as the electric guitar enters on the words “and face the truth”
- The music is moving from ballad style to rock
- Extra layers of backing vocals are added singing “ooh”
- Backing vocals sing a counter melody in bar 44 “Anyway the wind blows” against the main vocal line
- The bass line is descending in bar 43
- There is a drum fill-in in bar 46
Differences between Verse 1 and Verse 2
- Drums come in at the beginning of verse 2 but not in verse 1
- There are backing vocals in verse 2 but not in verse 1
- There is a four bar piano interlude in verse 2 but only a two bar interlude in verse 1
- Word painting in verse 2, uses a bell tree compared with cymbals in verse 1
- The mood is tense and angry in verse 2, while it is regretful in verse 1
Bars 47 - 54 - Guitar Interlude
- It is a heavy rock style section
- It is in the key of E flat Major
- Lead guitar plays guitar lick
- Bass on pentatonic scale
- Semiquaver scales and triplet rhythms
- Glissando in bars 47, 48 and 54
- Vibrato or bends in bar 48, 50, 52 and 53
- Chromatic scale movement
- Descending chromatic line in the overdubbed accompanying guitars and left hand and bass guitar in bar 49, 53 and 54
- Power chords in guitar, doubled root and he is playing a fifth above it in bar 50
- Ends in A major
Bars 55 - 95 Operatic Section
- There is an abrupt change in tempo and style
- The key is A major
- Piano, lead guitar, bass, drums, cymbals
- 2 bar piano intro with use of starrato chords
- Chromatic pattern in bars 57 + 58
- Wordpainting -> Bar 61 “Thunder Bolt and lightening” with use of percussion
- Falsetto voice Bars 61 - 66
- Stereo panning Bars 63 - 67
- Antiphonal singing (musical conversation) bar 63/64 unaccompanied on the words “Gal-li-le-o”
- Bell like arrangement on the word “magnifico”
- Repeated melody -> “I’m just a poor boy” -> 6 part harmony
- Percussion + bass guitar enter in bar 70
- 1 bar piano link bar 71
- Bar 77 is 10 bars of alternating solo + vocal harmony
- “Easy come easy go”
- “Bismallah … No we will not let you go”
- Panning bar 82-84 “we will not let you go”
- Stabbing chords in bar 86 as intensity rises in vocals, piano, guitars and percussion
Bars 96 - 99 Second Guitar Interlude (Start of Hard Rock Section)
- Key E flat major
- 4 Bar instrumental solo on lead guitar
- Time Signature 12/8 (12 quaver beats per bar)
- Distortion used throughout these bars
- Bass guitars overdubbed and drums accompany - No Piano
- Syncopation bars 96 - 99
Bars 100 - 122 Second Song
- Solo voice for 14 bars
- Accompanied by lead, bass guitar, drums and piano (end)
- Solo voice sings melody with descending repeated notes and syncopation “so you think you can stone me and spit in my eye” x2
- Triplet rhythms in the melody “Die - Ohhh - Baby”
- Syncopation -> stress on a weaker beat to liven up the rhythm (ties + dots)
- Power chords on guitars throughout
- Distortion on guitars
- Change of time signature to 2/4 in bar 103 and key signature to D flat major
Bars 113 - 122
- Bar 113 is a bridge passage for the guitar with percussion
- Features rising lick with overdubbing
- Use of stereo panning
- Piano gains in bar 121 playing octaves
- Music slows back to 4/4 and to ballad style
Bars 123 - 138 Recap + Coda Section
- Vocal harmony with percussion
- Overdubbing guitars playing rising arpeggios
- Bars 128 Solo voice with piano + bass, percussion and lead guitar
- Bars 129 Percussion drops out
- Melancholic Melody “Nothing really matters”
- Piano plays simple accompaniment similar to Verse 1
- Lead guitar panned in bars 134-136
- Ends in F major on Piano + Gong