killer queen

Question 1

Performing forces and their handling

Answer 1

The vocal part is performed by Freddie Mercury and is a high male voice – tenor. Guitars and vocals are overdubbed to create a richer colour.

‘Killer Queen’ uses:
* lead and backing vocals
* piano overdubbed with a honky-tonk (jangle) piano
* four electric guitars
* bass guitar
* drum kit

Question 2

Structure

Answer 2

Verse 1: 0-14
chorus: 15 - 22
instrumental: 23-26
Verse 2: 27-38
chorus: 39 - 43
Guitar solo: 44–61
Verse 3: 62-68
chorus 3: 69-78
Outro: 79-End

Question 3

String/pitch bends

Answer 3

distorts/changes the pitch

Question 4

pulll-offs

Answer 4

This creates a legato change of pitch (down)

Question 5

vibrato

Answer 5

rapid change of pitch/fluctuating pitch up and down

Question 6

multi tracking

Answer 6

recording of each individual player with everyone at the same time so their individual soundtracks can be manipulated and improved

Question 7

EQ

Answer 7

EQ (or equalization) in music is the process of adjusting the level or amplitude of specific frequencies - e.g. boosting bass or trebles

Question 8

flanger

Answer 8

Flangers add a variably delayed signal to the original. The delay gradually increases then decreases over a very short period of time (usually less than 20 milliseconds).

The feedback button controls how much of the effect is fed back into the input. The rate button controls the speed of the effect. The depth button controls the intensity.

Question 9

distortion

Answer 9

Distortion is an effect achieved by altering the amplification settings. It is often achieved by pressing a foot pedal connected to the amp.

Question 10

reverb

Answer 10

Reverb - reverberation - occurs naturally in any enclosed space, whether it’s a room, concert hall, cathedral or canyon. Sound reflects off surfaces back to the listener. Hard walls produce strong reverberations. Soft objects like sofas on the other hand absorb sound and produce less response.
Sound engineers try to reproduce the effect of those reverberations by using mechanical or digital processes. They can also introduce completely artificial reverb effects.
Technically, reverberation is the persistence of sound after the sound has been produced. The recording demonstrates first an unaltered sound, then the same sound repeated with increasing reverberation time.

Question 11

wah-wah

Answer 11

The wah-wah pedal is a foot pedal used by guitarists to alter the sound of the instrument. It is linked to the amplifier by a lead. Vox originally developed the wah-wah pedal in the 1960s so that guitarists could copy the sound of a muted trumpet. It has since become an indispensable part of a guitarist’s equipment. The recording is in the style of Jimi Hendrix.

Question 12

panning

Answer 12

Panning (or pan) distributes the sounds across the stereo spectrum.
Sound can be panned to the left or right or placed in the centre, where the sound is evenly distributed to both stereo channels.

instruments in a drum kit can be placed at different points of the stereo spectrum.

Question 13

overdubbing

Answer 13

player records themselves beforehandand plays it alongside the main recording

Question 14

falsetto

Answer 14

A male singer performing in a ‘false’ high range, beyond the normal pitch of the voice is said to sing in falsetto style. Rock singers occasionally use the technique

Question 15

imitation

Answer 15

Imitation occurs when one musical line copies another while the first line continues with something different.

Question 16

layering

Answer 16

where the music is built up in multiple layers

Question 17

Hammer on

Answer 17

legato change of pitch (up)

Question 18

Slides/portamento/glissando

Answer 18

slides between pitches

Question 19

Rhythm

Answer 19

• Swung feel
• Syncopation is frequent throughout. Chan ‘Don’, cake, 7 – (in)
• Triplets

Question 20

Tempo

Answer 20

112 bpm

Question 21

Metre

Answer 21

12/8 with bars of 6/8 added to extend phrase length

Question 22

Harmony

Answer 22

• Nonfunctional harmony, some chromaticism, and dissonance
• Most chords are in root position, but Some chords are in first or second inversion.
• Mostly triads with some altered and extended chords (7th, 9th)
• Multiple Seventh chords (e.g. bar 4)
• Circle of fifths (e.g. bars 20–21) – recommended at the price insatiable appetite.
• Pedal used bars 27–30. -start of verse 2 ‘to avoid complications she never kept the same address, in conversation she spoke just like a barroness’
• Chord sequences are repetitive.
• Use of drones - long and sustained notes or chord

Question 23

Tonality

Answer 23

Eb Major – unusual for a rock song – difficult to play on guitar.
Opening in C minor and closing on an E♭ major chord, the tonality is ambiguous at times. There are many passing modulations, strengthened by perfect cadences but often followed by parallel shifts, moving to a new key.
There is some use of dissonance (e.g. bar 30).

Question 24

Texture

Answer 24

• The main texture is melody dominated homophony.
• Use of imitation and panning throughout
• Use of layering through overdubbing and multi tracking to create a rich texture.
• Three-part texture during guitar solo.
• Antiphonal (e.g. bars 67-68) – drive you wild

Question 25

melody

Answer 25

• The text setting is mainly syllabic.
• The melody starts mostly conjunct with small leaps of a third or fourth.
• Bars 7 and 8 show an altered descending sequence.
• The melody has a wide range (goes very high and very low!). The vocal part sometimes uses falsetto for the very high parts. The vocal part is sung by Freddie Mercury, who has a high tenor voice.
• Some spoken parts – bar 38 for dramatic effect

Question 26

Backing vocals

Answer 26

• Sings lots of ooos and aaahs
• Repeated ‘Ba’s
• Use 4-part vocal harmonies at the end of verse 2 to build up to chorus – ‘A killer, a killer’
• Backing vocals echo ‘naturally’
• Drive you wild – 4-part vocals sing high pitches – word painting

Verse:
* solo vocals – single part
* Backing vocals – close harmony – multi part

Chorus:
* solo vocals – close harmony (multi part)
* if backing vocals are present then solo is single line and Backing vocals are close harmony (multi part).

Question 27

FX

Answer 27

• Frequent multitracking, panning, EQ and overdubbing
• Flanger on lazer beam – chorus – bar 17
• Snare roll + bell on bar 28- never kept the same address
• Wah wah fx on guitar - musical onomatopoeia – playful as a pussy cat
• Wanna try bar 77 flanger
• Outro contains flanger, wah wah, reverb and distortion

Question 28

Guitar solo

Answer 28

Uses: String/pitch bends, Vibrato, Pull off, Hammer on, Slides/portamento/glissando

Guitar solo starts off mimicking the lead part of the chorus (see bars 20–21 – recommended at the price)
The chord sequences use a descending pattern between bars 44–47 (see bars 20–21).
At bar 48 guitars 3 and 4 use imitation against guitar 1 before coming together in bar 50 to create three-part texture.
At bar 51 the harmony returns to the verse chord sequence, with the original melody The solo goes back to guitar 1 until bar 55 where guitars 2 and 3 again use a hocketting effect - overlapped