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

Tenement Funster

Composer: Roger Taylor
Meter: 4/4
Key: e-minor, B-major with dorian inflection
Form:
 Intro | Verse 1 | Verse 2 | Chorus | Solo | Verse 3 | Chorus |
 

The most interesting thing about this song is how the three Verses and the Chorus section all have different melodies upon a very similar chord progression. Only the Solo section has different harmonies. The phrasing is uneven (uneven number of measures) in many of the sections. Except the varying Verses, the form of the song is simple and almost identical to that of Modern Times RnR. The final chord of the song is sustained to the intro of the next song (Flick Of The Wrist).

Walkthrough

Intro
The folk-ballad-like guitar arpeggios are a familiar Rogeresque motif, which appears in two more of his later songs: Human Body and Rock It. Intro chords:

| Em  | Am  |
| i   | iv  |

Verse 1
Differently from later Verses, there are two measures less at the beginning of this section, unless we add the intro. Another difference in the framework is that the harmonic rhythm is slower during last measures (from the C chord on) compared to later Verses.

e:
| Em  | Am  | Em  | G   | G7     |
| i   | iv  | i   | III | V-of-VI|

| C   | Cm7 | D   |Dmaj7| D7  | -   |
| VI  | vi  | VII | -   | -   | -   |

Verse 2
The framework is similar to the first Verse, but the melody is different except maybe the first two measures. Moreover the harmonic rhythm is doubled in the last three mesures. The arrangement is completed with bass, drums, and piano, and the arpeggiated chords are replaced with strummed ones.

| Em  | Am  | Em  | Am  |

| Em  | G   | C Cm| D maj7| D7  |


(functions above)

Chorus
The chords are similar to the ones of the Verses, but the arrangement is different: very Rogeresque power-chord riffs (see Modern Times RnR) in the first four measures and backing vocals. In the fourth measure enters piano. The last measure is halved.

| Em  | Am  | Em  | Am  |

| Em  | G   | C Cm| D|


(functions above)

Second Chorus features delayed guitar fills, and has different ending (two measures instead of the last half measure).

Solo
This is the only section (ten measures) with totally different chord progression. The new tonic is B, but strangely the piano plays minor thirds for it. The solo guitar plays major thirds, and the piano switches to a B-major chord in the eighth measure. The last chord (D#) introduces the Em chord, similarly as G introduced G#m in the second measure. The B chord (V of i) could also be a possible choice for this role, but the D# is definitely a more Roger-like solution.

e:
| Em  | G   | G#m | Bm  | G#m | Bm  |
| i   | III |...
          B:  vi  | i   | vi  | i  |

B:
| G#m | B   | D#  | -   || Em
| vi  | I   | V-of-vi   ||

Verse 3
The melody is a bit similar to Verse 2. We can find two-part guitar harmonies in the second measure and two-part vocal harmonies in the fourth measure. They are different but actually imitate each other (even the vibratos are similar). More harmonies (three-part) appear in the last four measures.

| Em  | Am  | Em  | Am  |

| Em  | G   | C Cm| D*  | D*  | D*  | D*  |

(functions above, D* = D > Dmaj7 > D7 )