Killer Queen- Queen

• Context:

  • Composer: Freddie Mercury
  • Album: Sheer Heart Attack
  • Year: 1974
  • Band: Brian May (guitar), John Deacon (bass), Roger Taylor (kit), Freddie Mercury (lead vocal)
  • Genre: Stadium rock/ Glam rock
  • Influences: stadium rock, music hall, pseudo classical
• Melody pt1:

  • Conjunct- Scalic or step movement, descending and ascending notes
  • Stepwise- A change from 2 notes next to each other
  • Syllabic- music with lyrics that have one syllable of text per note
  • Leaps of 5th, 6th and 8ve- Add drama and build tension
  • Sequences- Descending chorus in b19-20
• Melody pt2:

  Vocables

  • Non-sense syllables (ba ba ba)
  • Sometimes spoken for dramatic effect (cross- note heads)
  • Guitar solo- Develops phrase 3 of verse, introduces new material
  • Vibrato (guitar)- Small fluctuations in pitch 
  • P.M- Palm mute- damping the strings slightly with the RH while picking
  • Slide- Smooth glide between 2 notes
  • Tremolo- Rapid repetition of a note
• Orchestration:

  • Lead/backing vocals- Freddie M, Tenor, overdubbed, huge vocal range (2 8ves + 3rd)
  • Piano- Freddie M, Overdubbed honky tonk
  • Electric guitars x4- Brian May, Overdubbed, picked not strummed
  • Bass guitar- John Deacon
  • Drum Kit- Roger Taylor
• Studio Effects:

  • Flanger- Swirling effect used on ‘laser beam’ and ‘wanna try’
  • Panning- Sound moving from one ear to the other
  • Portamento/glissando - Sliding between 2 notes
  • Distortion- Giving a distortion sound effect
• Harmony:

  
  

  • Functional harmony- Frequent use of 7th chords
  • Slash chord- Chord with a bass note other than the root (one in inversion)
  • Circle of 5ths- Series of chords where the root note of each chord is a 5th lower/ 4th higher than the previous one
  • Unusual chords (e.g. minor)- Chord iv is minor and flat VIII 
  • Imperfect cadence (verse)- Sounds unfinished
  • Harmonic rhythm- Begins 1 chord per bar, changes to 2 chords per bar in b6 (faster)
  • Inversions- Used to give a smooth bass line
  • Guitar doubled in 3rds- Instrumental link
• Texture:

  • Monophonic (starts)- Single line of melody
  • Mostly homophonic- Melody with chords, building up in layers at first with clear contrasts between sections
  • Light and sparse verses
  • Polyphonic (verse 2)- 2 or more independent melodic lines
  • Antiphonal moments- due to ‘Panning’

  Backing vocals

  • Overdubbed- Parts recorded individually and layered on top
  • Gospel style parallel harmonies sung by Freddie
  • Piano- Plays constantly while other parts come and go
• Tonality:

  • Tonic- E flat major (unusual for rock music, modulates to Cm, Gm, B flat and harmonic sequences)
  • Verse 1- E flat major
  • Chorus- B flat major (dominant)
  • Verse 2- Stronger hint at C minor then E flat major is more clear
  • Verse 3- Starts in Cm, returns to E flat
  • Outro- Starts in B flat, returns to E flat
• Rhythm:

  • Metre- Mostly 12/8, occasional 6/8 bars
  • Rhythmic feel- Swung (Emphasises by hi-hat rhythm of crotchet-quaver)
  • Syncopation- Creates strong offbeat
  • Fast tempo- Speeds up the piece, tension
  • Motif- (just like Marie Antoinette)
  • Anacrusis- Vocal melody of each section starts with an unstressed pickup note
• Structure:

  • Verse- chorus form
  • Intro- 6 finger clicks 
  • Verse 1- “She keeps a Moet a Chandon”
  • Chorus 1- “She’s a killer queen”
  • Verse 2- “To avoid complications”
  • Chorus 2- “She’s a killer queen”
  • Guitar Solo
  • Verse 3- “Drop of a hat”
  • Chorus 3- “She’s a killer queen”
  • Outro- “You wanna try”