Killer Queen

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What is the Genre of the piece?
Glam Rock
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Who is the main singer in Queen?
Freddie Mercury
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What were some of the themes of Queen ?
Embodied the excess of the 70s - Extravagant and glamorous musical style swell as dress style - Odd and bizarre fusions of music - Theatrical performance style - Use of Musical Technology
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What album was Killer Queen a part of?
Sheer Heart Attack in 1947 (their 3rd album)
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What instruments are used?
Vocals - Piano - Drums - Electric Guitar - Bass Guitar
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What is the structure of the piece?
Verse-chorus structure -> Intro - Verse 1 - Chorus 1 - Instrumental - Verse 2 - Chorus 2 - Guitar Solo 1 - Guitar Solo 2 - Verse 3 - Chorus 3 - Outro
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What is the Key of the piece?
Eb Major - which is unusual to have a Flat Key in Rock
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Does the piece modulate?
Frequently -> C minor (relative minor) for the Verses - Bb Major (dominant) for the Choruses
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What are some examples Music Technology used?
Panning - Distortion - Wah-wah - Flanger - Reverb - Overdubbing - Multitracking
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What is 'Panning'?
When sounds are recorded either to the left, right or centre of the recording studio to create the effect of space
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What is 'Distortion'?
An effect used on a guitar to make it sound more gritty
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What is a 'Reverb' effect?
An eco effect (created to emphasise the vocal line)
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What is a 'Wah-wah' effect?
An effect that alters the resonance of a note to make it sound expressive (much like a voice saying "wah")
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Where can 'Wah-wah' be seen in the piece?
In the guitar part to make it sound technological and otherworldly - e.g. Bar 62
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What is a 'Flanger' effect?
A 'swooshing' or 'swirling' sound effect
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Where can the 'Flanger' be seen in the piece?
Bar 17 on the words "Laser Beam" - Word Painting as it creates a technological laser sound
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What is a 'Portamento' effect?
A continuous glide in pitch between two notes
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Where can 'Portamento' be seen in the piece?
"Queen" in Bar 16 (in every Chorus) - "Wild" in Bar 67 - "Anytime" in Bar74 - "Wanna Try?" in Bar 77
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What is 'Overdubbing'?
Recording additional musical tracks over the top of an existing recording
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What is 'Multi-Tracking'?
Getting multiple musical tracks and mixing them together to make one single track
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Where can 'Overdubbing' and 'Multi-tracking' be seen in the piece?
The four part choir created in the vocal line and backing vocals - the 2 pianos used - the 4 electric guitars used
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How is the Melody upbeat and catchy?
There is an Anacrusis before every Verse - There are multiple reoccurring Motifs - Staccato block chords
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What is an irregular feature of the Melody line?
Irregular phrase lengths (e.g. 1 bar phrase, 3 bar phrases and 5 bar phrases)
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Give some examples of Word Painting used
Flanger on "Laser Beam" (Bar 17) - Spoken words on "Fastious and Precise" (Bar 38) - Climactic high notes and fast drum part on "Absolutely drive you wild" - Portamento emphasises the sarcasm of "Queen" (Bar 15)
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What is the Word Setting of the vocal line?
Mostly syllabic
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What are some Guitar Effects used?
String bends - Pull offs - Slides - Vibrato
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What is the purpose of the Guitar Solos?
To develop the main motifs of the piece
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What object is used to play the guitar part?
An old sixpence - It creates an interesting and different sound
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What is the Texture of the piece?
Mainly Homophonic - Some Polyphony - Antiphony in the Guitar Solo
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What is the Texture like at the beginning of the piece?
Homophonic - the texture builds getting thicker as parts gradually come in
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Describe the Tempo
Fast - creates an upbeat mood
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What is the Metre of the piece?
12/8 - which is unusual to have Compound Time in Rock
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State 2 features of the Rhythm that create the mood of the piece?
Swung Rhythms - Syncopation (seen in the recurring motif)
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What inspired the harmony of this piece?
Musical Theatre
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What are some harmonic features used in the piece?
Pedal - some Dissonance - some Chromaticism - Extended chord - Chord progressions of the circle of fifths
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What are some harmonic features of the backing vocals?
They form a 4 part choir - They move in parallel motion (like a gospel choir)
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What is the Cadence at the end of the piece?
Perfect Cadence
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

Who is the main singer in Queen?

Back

Freddie Mercury

Card 3

Front

What were some of the themes of Queen ?

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

What album was Killer Queen a part of?

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

What instruments are used?

Back

Preview of the front of card 5
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