Bohemian Rhapsody - Identifying features of each section

Question 1

Intro Pt 1 Bars 1-4

Answer 1

Key: Bb Major/G minor
- Acapella singing
- 4 part close harmony
- Repeated melody notes
- Changing time signatures
- Syncopation
- Overdubbing

Question 2

Intro Pt 2 Bars 5-16

Answer 2

Key: Bb Major/G Minor
- Vocals, Piano, Bass Guitar
- Broken chords, Block chords
- Chromatic movement
- Word painting
- Flanged crash cymbal
- Panning
- Backing vocals counter motif

Question 3

V1 Bars 17-34

Answer 3

Key: Bb Major/Eb Major
- Ballad style
- Solo voice
- Piano broken chord 2 note motif
- Syncopated melody
- Bass guitar glissando ‘dead’
- Drum kit added midway through verse
- Backbeat on drums
- Triplet ‘gun against’
- Chromatic motif

Question 4

V2 Bars 35-46

Answer 4

Key: Bb Major/ Eb Major
- Ballad style
- Solo voice + backing vocals
- Standard rock drum beat
- Word painting ‘bell tree’ (shivers)
- Glissando in bass guitar
- Piano broken chords
- Chromatic descending bass guitar
- Overdubbed vocal harmonies
- Elec guitar aggressive entry
- Crash cymbals
- Overdubbing

Question 5

Differences between V1 + V2

Answer 5

• Drums come in at the beginning of V2 but midway in V1
• There are backing vocals in V2 but not in V1
• 4 bar piano interlude in V2 but only a 2 bar interlude in V1
• Word painting + bell tree in V2, compared with cymbals in V1
• The mood is tense and angry in V2, while it is regretful in V1

Question 6

Bridge/Transition passage Bars 47-54

Answer 6

Key: Eb Major
- Rock style
- 9 bar solo guitar lick (accomp by piano, bass guitar and drums)
- Overdubbed guitars
- Glissando, bending, vibrato on guitar
- Power chord sequences
- Semiquaver scales and triplet rhythms
- Chromatic descending bass line leads to an abrupt change of key

Question 7

Operatic Section Bars 55-94

Answer 7

Key: A Major/Ab major
- Classical/Operatic Style
-Abrupt key change to A Major
- Abrupt change of tempo
- Abrupt change of texture
-No elec guitar/drum kit
- Falsetto
- Word painting
- Reverb
- Layered voices ‘Magnifico’
- Piano broken chord motif
- Chromatic motif
- Antiphonal Dialogue
- Accented staccato chords rising chromatically with added crash cymbal ‘no,no,no’
- Repeated Bb triplets for entry into the rock section

Question 8

Hard Rock Section Bars 98-122

Answer 8

Key: Eb Major
- Riff
- Starts no piano
- Overdubbed guitars
- Pedal like bass guitar on Bb
- Power chords
- Repeated notes
- Syncopation
- Piano reenters in octaves

Question 9

Recap Bars 123-131

Answer 9

Key: Eb Major
- Back to ballad style
- Og speed and tempo
- Backing vocals
- Rising arpeggios on overdubbed guitar

Question 10

Coda Bars 132-138

Answer 10

Key: Eb Major/F Major
- Guitar and drums drop out
- Rubato and Rit
- Panning on guitar
- Piano broken chord motif from intro
- Chromatic motif
- Ends on F Major chord in piano and gong