Killer Queen From Sheer Heart Attack

Question 1

Instruments

Answer 1

Killer Queen employs vocals, piano, electric guitars and drum, which were common instruments of the time and style

Question 2

Introduction

Answer 2

introduction - bars 1 and 2
verse 1 - bars 2 to 14
chorus 1 - bars 15 to 22
instrumental link - bars 23 to 26
verse 2 - bars 27 to 38
chorus 2 - bars 39 to 43
guitar solo - bars 44 to 61
verse 3 - bars 62 to 69
chorus 3 - bars 70 to 78
outro - from bar 79 until the end

Question 3

Melody

Answer 3

After six introductory clicks in 12/8, Killer Queen begins with a vocal anacrusis. The small phrases within the melody mostly move by step. However, there are leaps found between the end note of one phrase and beginning note of the next phrase.

A sequence is found in both the verse and chorus. In the example below, bar 13 is a third higher than bar 12. Another sequence follows in bar 21 as the vocal melody is repeated from bar 20, but is step lower.

Word setting is almost totally syllabic. Nonsense syllables, such as ‘oohs’ and ‘bahs’ are used throughout the song. This technique is called vocables

Question 4

Texture

Answer 4

The texture is melody-dominated homophony. There is a clear melody line and the accompaniment mostly plays block chords on each beat.

There is imitation between the voice and the electric guitar at points in the song, e.g. following the ‘willing as’ the guitar repeats the same notes in imitation bar 62 on beat 4

Question 5

Metre rhythm and tempo

Answer 5

The time signature is 12/8, which means that there are four groups of three quavers in a bar; this is a type of compound time signature. Many of the rhythms are dotted crotchet to quaver, which gives the song a swung feel. The tempo is at a steady 112 bpm. Syncopation is found at various points in the melody, which helps create the upbeat feel. Each new section begins with an anacrusis

Question 6

Harmony and tonality

Answer 6

The tonic key of Killer Queen is E♭ major - however, the verses start in the relative minor of C and the choruses move to the dominant B♭ major. Both of these keys are the closest relations to E♭ major.

Not all of the chords used belong to the tonic key. For example, bar 18 has the chords G7, F7/A, G7/B and C. If all the accidentals in the key signature were used, these chords would actually be Gm7, Fm7/A♭, Gm7/B♭ and Cm. However, they have been altered to chords that don’t belong to the tonic key.

Extended chords, such as seventh and eleventh chords are employed. A harmonic pedal is used in bars 5 to 6 at the start of each verse to underpin the music. Mercury’s overdubbed vocal parts move in parallel harmonies, which makes the band sound bigger and helps differentiate between sections of the song.

Shared between the band members, a descending chromatic bassline is heard in bars 7 to 9, which highlights the flamboyancy of the song. A circle of fifths features at bar 20 where the chords are A - Dm - G7 - C, which are all closely related, as shown in the diagram below

Question 7

Sonority

Answer 7

Some techniques used by the guitar include, a pitch bend at bar 30, a slide at bar 34, a palm mute at bar 69, and light distortion throughout. Freddie Mercury uses a portamento between the two syllables of ‘queen’ in each chorus. In bar 17 a flanger effect is applied to the lyric ‘like a laser beam’ to produce a sound of a laser, which is a technique known as word painting.

Many of the techniques used in Killer Queen that enhance the sonority of the song were added in the recording studio. These effects include reverb on the lead vocals and stereo panning. These can be heard in bar 19 and during the overlapping guitar parts in bar 55

Question 8

Vocal range

Answer 8

a falsetto vocal range of two octaves and a minor third

Question 9

Dynamics and melody

Answer 9

Dynamics state how loud or quiet a piece of music is and a melody is a significant phrase of pitched notes with a given rhythm. Queen have taken many features from different genres to write an incredibly melodic song, such as:

the song is performed at a comfortable mezzo forte (mf), although this is not written on the score
each verse and chorus begins with an anacrusis
the melodic phrasing is not always symmetrical
stepwise melodic movement
sequences feature in bars 12 to 13 and 20 to 21
the text setting is syllabic
Melismas are used for ornamentation, for example in bars 34 to 35 on the lyric ‘inclined’