blog




  • Essay / Bohemian Rhapsody - 718

    The introduction to the song begins with a slow tempo in simple quadruple meter. It begins in tight five-part harmony with heterophonic voices, singing a cappella in long, prolonged notes. The first and second sub-sentences of the first sentence end with questions, the breath is heard and then the second part of the statement begins just like the first. There is an accent on "no" with a sudden drop in tone, then the voices return to the original notes, where the last word and the last note are held, this forms the cadence. The theme begins with the melody in legato form. The statement resumes with four voices now still in harmony, but in a homophonic style due to the piano joining them. The piano still playing, the voices accompany it by pronouncing a word and a note. Three of the voices fade out and become background accompaniment to the main voice, singing in union and straining a note. Then the backup vocals imitate part of the leader's phrase as he continues singing the melody. The three voices then join the main voice, making it a harmony again, with the piano completely changing its playing by playing one note at a time every two beats. During this part there is some word painting involved, when the voices say "high" their pitch goes up and when they say "low" their pitch goes down. Then the piano returns to its original melody with the lead vocal becoming apparent again by increasing the volume of his voice, but still singing the same lyrics as the other parts. The leader swings back and forth, being equal or not, differing from the dynamics of the other voices. In this last sub-phrase the emphasis is placed on "mine" by the main voice which repeats it this time by itself, again forming a compound pattern...... middle of paper... ...ng which leads into the guitar solo. The electric guitar begins its solo, with the drums playing in the background in its triple meter. The intensity of the music continues, the latter for almost thirty beats, until the bass completes the descent initiating the tone of the new key. At this point the band stops for maybe half a beat, but the piano picks up playing a totally different theme than any other part of the song. It begins in a gentle staccato with oscillating piano chords. This section is known as the opera section of this song. The oscillating piano chords continue and are also heard in the vocals. There is an accelerated sequence of calls and responses. The solo singing starts in a very monotonous tone for eight beats. Then responds a trio, for another eight beats, more acute, dissonant and also very monotonous..