The Book

Introduction What is it all good for? Scope of work Project History

Music theory in nutshell Harmony Chord notation used in the analyses The degrees of notes Chord functions Keys, Sharps and flats, neighbour keys Guitar friendly and piano-friendly keys Modulations, key changes Parallel key modulations Relative key modulations Neighbour key modulations Combined modulations Step-up/down modulations Unusual modulations Key-shifts Pivot Modulation Borrowed chords Cliche chord progressions Modes Ambigous harmony Rhythms Exercies Syncopations Shuffle beat Metrical modulations, metrical anomalies Compound meters Disorienting Rhythms Songforms General aesthatics of popular and rock music

Repetitions and variants

Queen - The four of them as musicians Brian May Roger Taylor Freddie Mercury John Deacon

Songwriting Analyses Smile Ibex "No Synth" era Queen Keep Yourself Alive Doing All Right Great King Rat My Fairy King Liar The Night Comes Down Modern Times Rock'n'roll Son And Daughter Jesus Seven Seas Of Rhye Silver Salmon Hangman Mad The Swine Queen II Procession Father To Son White Queen (As It Began) Some Day One Day The Loser In The End Ogre Battle The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke Nevermore March Of The Black Queen Funny How Love Is Seven Seas Of Rhye See What A Fool I've Been Sheer Heart Attack Brighton Rock Killer Queen Tenement Funster Flick Of The Wrist Lily Of The Valley Now I'm Here In The Lap Of The Gods Stone Cold Crazy Dear Friends Misfire Bring Back That Leroy Brown She Makes Me In The Lap Of The Gods... Revisited A Night At The Opera Death On Two Legs Lazing On A Sunday Afternoon I'm In Love With My Car You're My Best Friend Sweet Lady '39 Seaside Rendezvous The Prophet's Song Love Of My Life Good Company Bohemian Rhapsody God Save The Queen A Day At The Races Tie Your Mother Down You Take My Breath Away Long Away The Millionaire Waltz You And I Somebody To Love White Man Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy Drowse Teo Torriate News Of The World We Will Rock You We Are The Champions Sheer Heart Attack All Dead All Dead Spread Your Wings Fight From The Inside Get Down Make Love Sleeping On The Sidewalk Who Needs You It's Late My Melancholy Blues Feelings Jazz Mustapha Fat Bottomed Girls Jealousy Bicycle Race If You Can't Beat Them Let Me Entertain You Dead On Time In Only Seven Days Dreamers Ball Fun It Leaving Home Ain't Easy Don't Stop Me Now More Of That Jazz Live performances in the 70s Modern-era Queen The Game Play The Game Dragon Attack Another One Bites The Dust Need Your Loving Tonight Crazy Little Thing Called Love Rock It (prime Jive) Don't Try Suicide Sail Away Sweet Sister Coming Soon Save Me Human Body Sandbox Flash Gordon Flash's Theme In The Space Capsule Ming's Theme The Ring Football Fight In The Death Cell Execution Of Flash The Kiss Arboria Escape From The Swamp Flash To The Rescue Vultan's Theme Battle Theme The Wedding March Marriage Of Dale And Ming Flash's Theme Reprise Crash Dive On Mingo City The Hero Hot Space Staying Power Dancer Back Chat Body Language Action This Day Put Out The Fire Life Is Real Calling All Girls Las Palabras De Amor Cool Cat Under Pressure Soul Brother The Works Radio Ga Ga Tear It Up It's A Hard Life Man On The Prowl Machines (or 'Back To Humans') I Want To Break Free Keep Passing The Open Windows Hammer To Fall Is This The World We Created? I Go Crazy A Kind Of Magic One Vision A Kind Of Magic One Year Of Love Pain Is So Close To Pleasure Friends Will Be Friends Who Wants To Live Forever Gimme The Prize (Kurgan's Theme) Don't Lose Your Head Princes Of The Universe The Miracle Party Khashoggi's Ship The Miracle I Want It All The Invisible Man Breakthru Rain Must Fall Scandal My Baby Does Me Was It All Worth It Hang On In There Chinese Torture Hijack My Heart My Life Has Been Saved Stealin' New Life Is Born Dog With A Bone Guess We're Fallin Out Innuendo Innuendo I'm Going Slightly Mad Headlong I Can't Live With You Don't Try So Hard Ride The Wild Wind All God's People These Are The Days Of Our Lives Delilah The Hitman Bijou The Show Must Go On Lost Opportunity Face It Alone Self Made Man My Secret Fantasy Made In Heaven It's A Beautiful Day Made In Heaven Let Me Live Mother Love My Life Has Been Saved I Was Born To Love You Heaven For Everyone Too Much Love Will Kill You You Don't Fool Me A Winter's Tale My Life Has Been Saved It's A Beautiful Day (reprise) No-One But You Live performances in the 80s

Appendix Special instruments Special effects Special playing techniques Classical quotes Musical terms Index References

Misfire

Composer: John Deacon
Meter: 4/4
Key: G-Major, Bb-Major ( > C > Db > Eb )
Form:

       Intro I-II(A) | Chorus (A)| Verse I |
                     | Chorus    | Solo    |
                     | Chorus    | Verse I - II - outro  

While not a mega-hit of the era it's definitely an important point of the Queen songbook being the first public composition of Deacon. It's under two minutes and its songform is more or less cyclic. We have an oddly harmonized guitar solo section where from the harmony is shifted up. The outro applies a chain of key-shifts.
There is some Beatles-ism in two chord progressions and in the assymetric mixing.


Intro:
The intro starts with strummed guitars setting the homekey. The harmonic rhythm is 3+5 syncopated.

| G C  | -    |
| I IV | -    |

The second part of the intro is in fact the backing track of the Chorus. The arrangement is completed with bass and   multitracked (three-part) guitars figure which is the main hook of the chorus and the outro.


Chorus
It's only four measures with two pentatonic melodic phrases (AB-AC 2+2). The lead vocal is mixed into the left channel (> "Who Needs You"), balanced out with multitrack guitar figures. Note how both notes of "fill me U-UP" are non-triadic (B and D notes vs. C chord).

| G C  | -    | -    | G D  |
| I IV | -    | -    | I V  |

The third verse is shifted up to Bb-Major.


Verse
The verses are steering the harmony toward the relative minor key (e-minor). The harmonic phrasing is AAA 2+2+2 the melodic phrasing is AA'A" 2+2+3 the last phrase overlapping the next chorus. The lead vocal is mixed into the right stereo channel.

/----- 3x ----\
| Em   | A C  || G...
| vi   |II IV || I

The vi > II > IV > I progression can be familiar from "She Loves You" (Beatles).

The second verse is extended with a rising melodic phrase. The arrangement drops the guitar harmonies and adds simple vocal harmonies following the guitar chords.

| Bb   | C    | Eb   | -    || Bb...
| I    | II   | IV   | -    || I

This chord progression is familiar from "Eight Days A Week" (Beatles), but see also later in "A Kind Of Magic".


Solo
The guitar solo features many triadic fragments. The harmony is too vague to speak about fixed tonal center here. The first chords are reminiscent of the "I > V > bVII > IV" lick while the ending is a step-wise shord stream. In m4 we have a 3+3+2 rhythm pattern putting the last chord change one quarter before the downbeat.
 

| Eb  | Bb Db |


| Ab  | Db7 Eb7 F7 | (F)  |
        Bb: IV  V  |  V   |

The guitar chords are strenthened with simple vocal harmonies. The caribic drumfill of the closing is reminiscent of "Who Needs You".


Outro:
The beginning of the outro overlaps the last verse. The mulititrack guitar fills are varied as the key is shifting up:

m.1-4  Bb-Major
m.5-6  C-Major
m.7-10 Db-major
m11-   Eb-major

The closing antiphonal guitar fills with 3+3+... (6+6+...) grouping of notes are reminiscent of the closing of "Killer Queen".