Killer Queen by Queen Flashcards

1
Q

list as many melodic features in KQ as you can

A
  • 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’)
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2
Q

list as many harmonic features in KQ as you can

A
  • 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
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3
Q

list as many features of the tonality of KQ as you can

A
  • Eb maj
  • Bb maj
  • tonally ambiguous
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4
Q

describe the tempo, rhythm, metre of KQ

A
  • mainly 12/8 compound time
  • regular beat
  • syncopation
  • anacrusis
  • extra 6/8 bars
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5
Q

list as many features of the instrumentation of KQ as you can

A
  • 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
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6
Q

describe the texture of KQ

A
  • mainly homophonic
  • gradually builds - at first, simple melody and accompaniment
  • part texture
  • panning
  • antiphonal feel - call and response
  • imitation
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7
Q

what is a portamento slide?

A

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.

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8
Q

what is falsetto?

A

a method of voice production used by male singers, especially tenors, to sing notes higher than their normal range.

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9
Q

give an example of how KQ is mainly syllabic

A

‘let them eat cake, she says’

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10
Q

give an example of spoken text in KQ

A

b.38 ‘fastidious and precise’

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11
Q

give an example of word painting in KQ

A
  • ‘b.66 ‘drive you wild’
  • b.17 ‘laser beam’ flanger effect
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12
Q

give an example of a portamento slide in KQ

A

b.15 ‘queen’

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13
Q

give an example of the wide range in KQ

A
  • b.62 ‘drop of a hat (G4) she’s (G5)’ octave leap
  • b.70 high F on ‘queen’
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14
Q

give an example of how KQ is often conjunct

A

‘in her pretty cabinet’

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15
Q

give an example of wide and angular leaps in KQ

A

6th and 8ves; b.6-7 ‘A (B4) built (G5) in remedy’ - rising major 6th

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16
Q

give an example of falsetto in KQ

A
  • b.34-5 ‘inclined’
  • b.12-13 ‘caviar and cigarettes’
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17
Q

give an example of an inner chromatically descending sequence in KQ

A

b.31-33 ‘met a man from china’

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18
Q

what is an example of an altered descending sequence in KQ

A

b.7-8 ‘built in a remedy…’

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19
Q

give an example of a chromatically descending bassline in killer queen

A

b.7-9

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20
Q

give an example of a chromatically descending sequence in KQ

A

b.7-9 in guitar 1

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21
Q

give an example of parallel motion in KQ

A

B.16 ‘gunpowder gelatine’

22
Q

give an example of the circle of 5ths progression in KQ

A

in the first chorus eg B17 and b20-21

23
Q

give an example of an adventurous chord sequence in KQ

A

dominant chords jump to new secondary dominants b.13-16ish eg Bb to Eb then D7 to Gm then F to Bb

24
Q

give an example of a perfect cadence in KQ

A
  • b.36 G7 to Cm
  • b.6 Bb7 to Eb
25
Q

give an example of an imperfect cadence in KQ

A

b.9-10 Eb to Bb11

26
Q

give an example of altered an extended chords in KQ

A
  • Bb11
  • Bb7 in b6
27
Q

give an example of a non-diationic chord in KQ

A

b.8 Db

28
Q

give an example of root position chords in KQ

A

b.3 and 5 Cm

29
Q

give an example of pedal notes in KQ

A
  • b.82 Eb
  • b. 23 Low F
  • b.27 Low C
30
Q

why can the tonality of KQ be described as tonally ambiguous?

A

starts with Cmin chord indicating it is in Cm, but this actually serves as the relative minor

31
Q

why is it strange that KQ is in Eb?

A

it is difficult for guitar to play

32
Q

where does KQ modulate to Bb?

A

chorus

33
Q

give an example of stacatto chords in KQ

A

b. 53

34
Q

what feeling does the 12/8 compounds time of KQ give?

A

swung feel

35
Q

give an example of syncopation in KQ?

A

b. 22 ‘wanna try’

36
Q

where are there extra 6/8 bars in KQ and why is this strange?

A
  • b.10
  • uneven melody length unusual in rock
37
Q

what is the structure of Kq?

A

verse-chorus

38
Q

what is the genre of KQ?

A

glam or stadium rockg

39
Q

give 3 ways KQ is unusual for its genre

A
  • adventurous chord sequences, harmony and structure
  • theatrical style influenced by musical theatre
  • complicated layered guitar using multi-track recording
40
Q

give an example of where voices are overdubbed in KQ

A

b.39 ‘killer queen’

41
Q

give an example of drum rolls in KQ

A

b.28

42
Q

what effect does the overdubbing on the piano in KQ give?

A

overdubbed with honky tonk makes it tinny

43
Q

list some guitar effects in KQ

A
  • slides eg b.23
  • vibrato in 3rds eg b.24
  • pitch bends eg b.30
  • palm mute eg b.69
  • 4 Overdubbed parts
44
Q

what are some effects used in KQ?

A
  • 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
45
Q

where is there 3-part texture in KQ?

A

guitar solo b.50

46
Q

where is there panning in KQ?

A

b.18 in backing vocals

47
Q

where is there an antiphonal feel in KQ?

A

b.67 at climax

48
Q

where is there imitation in KQ?

A

b.62 in between guitar parts

49
Q

where is a polyphonic feel created in KQ?

A

b.31-33 interweaving vocal and guitar

50
Q

what does homophonic mean

A

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

51
Q

what does polyphonic mean

A

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

52
Q

what is anacrusis

A

one or more unstressed notes before the first bar line of a piece or passage.