Killer Queen by Queen Flashcards
list as many melodic features in KQ as you can
- mainly syllabic
- wide range
- guitar solo uses ideas from rest of song
- vocables/backing vocals
- often conjunct but some wide angular leaps (6ths and 8ves)
- falsetto
- spoken text
- portamento slides
- word painting
- chromatically descending sequence (inner chromatic descending pattern ‘met a man’)
list as many harmonic features in KQ as you can
- adventurous chord sequences
- altered/extended chords (7th, 11th, 9th)
- circle of 5ths progression
- perfect cadences
- some fast harmonic rhythms
- imperfect cadences
- most chords in root position
- pedal notes
- short, detached piano chords
- parallel motion
list as many features of the tonality of KQ as you can
- Eb maj
- Bb maj
- tonally ambiguous
describe the tempo, rhythm, metre of KQ
- mainly 12/8 compound time
- regular beat
- syncopation
- anacrusis
- extra 6/8 bars
list as many features of the instrumentation of KQ as you can
- high tenor voice
- piano, bass, electric guitar, drums
- overdubbing - 4 guitar parts, voices, honky tonk
- multi-track recording
- EQ
- pull-offs, slides, vibrato, bends
- drum rolls
- flanger, wah-wah, distortion, reverb, panning
- finger clicks
describe the texture of KQ
- mainly homophonic
- gradually builds - at first, simple melody and accompaniment
- part texture
- panning
- antiphonal feel - call and response
- imitation
what is a portamento slide?
a much shorter slide, usually between two notes which are quite close. Opera singers often used to slide from one note of a tune to another instead of singing each note separately and clearly.
what is falsetto?
a method of voice production used by male singers, especially tenors, to sing notes higher than their normal range.
give an example of how KQ is mainly syllabic
‘let them eat cake, she says’
give an example of spoken text in KQ
b.38 ‘fastidious and precise’
give an example of word painting in KQ
- ‘b.66 ‘drive you wild’
- b.17 ‘laser beam’ flanger effect
give an example of a portamento slide in KQ
b.15 ‘queen’
give an example of the wide range in KQ
- b.62 ‘drop of a hat (G4) she’s (G5)’ octave leap
- b.70 high F on ‘queen’
give an example of how KQ is often conjunct
‘in her pretty cabinet’
give an example of wide and angular leaps in KQ
6th and 8ves; b.6-7 ‘A (B4) built (G5) in remedy’ - rising major 6th
give an example of falsetto in KQ
- b.34-5 ‘inclined’
- b.12-13 ‘caviar and cigarettes’
give an example of an inner chromatically descending sequence in KQ
b.31-33 ‘met a man from china’
what is an example of an altered descending sequence in KQ
b.7-8 ‘built in a remedy…’
give an example of a chromatically descending bassline in killer queen
b.7-9
give an example of a chromatically descending sequence in KQ
b.7-9 in guitar 1
give an example of parallel motion in KQ
B.16 ‘gunpowder gelatine’
give an example of the circle of 5ths progression in KQ
in the first chorus eg B17 and b20-21
give an example of an adventurous chord sequence in KQ
dominant chords jump to new secondary dominants b.13-16ish eg Bb to Eb then D7 to Gm then F to Bb
give an example of a perfect cadence in KQ
- b.36 G7 to Cm
- b.6 Bb7 to Eb
give an example of an imperfect cadence in KQ
b.9-10 Eb to Bb11
give an example of altered an extended chords in KQ
- Bb11
- Bb7 in b6
give an example of a non-diationic chord in KQ
b.8 Db
give an example of root position chords in KQ
b.3 and 5 Cm
give an example of pedal notes in KQ
- b.82 Eb
- b. 23 Low F
- b.27 Low C
why can the tonality of KQ be described as tonally ambiguous?
starts with Cmin chord indicating it is in Cm, but this actually serves as the relative minor
why is it strange that KQ is in Eb?
it is difficult for guitar to play
where does KQ modulate to Bb?
chorus
give an example of stacatto chords in KQ
b. 53
what feeling does the 12/8 compounds time of KQ give?
swung feel
give an example of syncopation in KQ?
b. 22 ‘wanna try’
where are there extra 6/8 bars in KQ and why is this strange?
- b.10
- uneven melody length unusual in rock
what is the structure of Kq?
verse-chorus
what is the genre of KQ?
glam or stadium rockg
give 3 ways KQ is unusual for its genre
- adventurous chord sequences, harmony and structure
- theatrical style influenced by musical theatre
- complicated layered guitar using multi-track recording
give an example of where voices are overdubbed in KQ
b.39 ‘killer queen’
give an example of drum rolls in KQ
b.28
what effect does the overdubbing on the piano in KQ give?
overdubbed with honky tonk makes it tinny
list some guitar effects in KQ
- slides eg b.23
- vibrato in 3rds eg b.24
- pitch bends eg b.30
- palm mute eg b.69
- 4 Overdubbed parts
what are some effects used in KQ?
- EQ
- Flanger eg b.17 ‘laser beam;
- wah-wah
- light distortion throughout
- reverb eg b. 19 and 55
- panning eg b.42 ‘blow your mind’
- multi track recording
where is there 3-part texture in KQ?
guitar solo b.50
where is there panning in KQ?
b.18 in backing vocals
where is there an antiphonal feel in KQ?
b.67 at climax
where is there imitation in KQ?
b.62 in between guitar parts
where is a polyphonic feel created in KQ?
b.31-33 interweaving vocal and guitar
what does homophonic mean
characterized by the movement of accompanying parts in the same rhythm as the melody; primary part is supported by one or more additional strands that provide the harmony. One melody predominates while the other parts play either single notes or an elaborate accompaniment
what does polyphonic mean
f two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords
what is anacrusis
one or more unstressed notes before the first bar line of a piece or passage.
