Transcript Freddie mercury

John Hancock
Music 1010
 Freddie
Mercury
(Farookh Bulsara) was
born September 5,
1946, in Zanzibar,
Tanzania
 Freddie learned how to
play the piano at age 7,
and at age 12, started
his own band known as
The Hectics.
 When
Freddie was 17,
his family had to leave
Zanzibar because of the
Zanzibar Revolution.
 They moved to England
and he earned a degree
in art at the University
of West London.
 In
April, 1970, Freddie Mercury began his life
with Queen.
 He wrote the most hits out of all of the band
members, including ten of the seventeen
songs on their greatest hits album.
 He used a wide range of genre’s, from heavy
metal to disco to progressive rock.
 He would use a wide range of chords and
crazy harmonies, but he would always say
that he could not read music.
 As
a live performer, people
consider him to be one of the
greatest performers of all time.
 David Bowie said, “Of all the
more theatrical rock performers,
Freddie took it further than the
rest... he took it over the edge.
And of course, I always admired a
man who wears tights. I only saw
him in concert once and as they
say, he was definitely a man who
could hold an audience in the
palm of his hand."
 He
did some of the
music for the movie
“Metropolis”, including
the song “Love Kills”,
which got to number 10
on the UK Singles
Chart.
 His first solo album was
called “Mr. Bad Guy”
 In
the spring of 1987, the press had reported
that Freddie Mercury had been diagnosed
with AIDS.
 Freddie, however, denied it by saying that he
actually tested negative for it.
 Freddie and Queen quit touring in 1988.
 Freddie and the rest of Queen made an
appearance at the 1990 Brit Awards.
 At the award show, Freddie looked incredibly
ill and a newspaper came out with a headline
saying “It’s official, Freddie is terribly ill.
 After
the article, Freddie and his friends and
colleagues continually denied that he was ill.
 A year later, On the 22nd of November, 1991,
Freddie put out a statement that told the
world that he had been diagnosed with AIDS.
 On the 24th of November, 1991, Freddie
passed away at the age of 45. His official
cause of death was Bronchial Pneumonia
resulting from AIDS.
 Bohemian




Rhapsody
Queen’s 1975 album A Night at the Opera.
Normally, most of the songs that Queen and
Freddie wrote were all done in studio; however,
Freddie had been working on this song since the
late 1960’s.
Brian May, the bands guitarist, said, "Freddie was
a very complex person: flippant and funny on the
surface, but he concealed insecurities and
problems in squaring up his life with his
childhood. He never explained the lyrics, but I
think he put a lot of himself into that song.“
The song has been inducted into the Grammy
Hall of Fame.

Bicycle Race
1978 album “Jazz”
 Freddie really was inspired
by this song when he was
observing the 1978 Tour de
France where the band was
recording their “Jazz”
album.
 The music video has
between sixty and seventy
naked models riding
bicycles around Wimbledon
Greyhound Stadium.

 We



Are the Champions
1977 album “News of the
World”
It is considered one of
the most recognizable
rock songs and one of
the catchiest songs of all
time
In 2005, the song was
voted as the world’s
favorite song in a 2005
Sony Ericsson world
music poll.
 Bohemian
0.0
Introduction
0
0.4
Verse 1 Part 1
5
1.2
Verse 1 Part 2
2
1.5
0
Verse 2 Part 1
Rhapsody
Band sings introduction using vocals only (a capella). Vocal
texture varies, as Freddie sings solo, then band provides
backup. Wind like sounds comes in as he sings “any way the
wind blows...” Form stays constant, with no repetition.
Rhythm stays the same through whole section. Voice only
raises or lowers; no instruments except slight piano.
Freddie plays the piano while singing as other member strums
bass. Pitch in voice and piano raise and lower. Would go low, then
suddenly jump high, then go low. When Freddie would play a low
note on the piano, the bass player would strum a note.
Piano continues. Drum enters. His voice crescendos at the
beginning of this part of the verse. Towards the end of the verse,
his voice decrescendos.
Brief interlude between verses. Piano continues. Drums begin
again at two minute mark. Pitch in his voice and piano continue
to raise and lower through verse. Electric guitar comes in at end
of verse, kind of distorted.
2.2
Verse 2 Part 2
1
3.0
Bridge 1
5
4.0
Bridge 2
0
4.5
Interlude
0
5.2
0
Ending
Texture of song continues to build. Backing vocals enter.
At the end of the verse, an electric guitar enters from
2.40 to 3.04. Guitar plays numerous chords and notes.
Pitch of guitar also raises and lowers.
The guitar solo suddenly ends. The bridge begins by Freddie
playing steady chords on the piano. A number of different
techniques are used from solo singing put up against group
vocals and extreme shifts in pitch.
Features steady bass and drums, hard-driving, distorted
guitar lines, and Mercury’s fantastic vocals. The guitar
dominates the whole bridge. Multiple chords and notes are
played from all instruments. The only instrument not played
during this bridge is the piano. It is the only section of song
with no piano being played. Very up tempo.
Piano comes back. Guitar played for first part of interlude,
but after short while it stops. There is a ritardando between
the 2nd bridge and the interlude. Freddie’s voice texture
goes from gritty to a really soft texture.
Material from the introduction and verse section returns as
Mercury sings, using his gentlest voice, singing “nothing
really matters.” The backing vocalists end the song with the
line “any way the wind blows,” alluding to the introduction,
as if the song has come full-circle. The piano and guitar play
multiple soft chords.
 Bicycle
0.0
Race
Beginning
0
0.2
Chorus
0
0.3
Verse 1
0
0.5
0
Chorus
Starts off with Freddie and other band members singing the
word bicycle in unison and in the same harmony. When they
sing Bi, they go really high in their pitch. When they say
cycle, the pitch lowers slightly.
Freddie then continues singing I want to ride my bicycle I want
to ride my bike with only the drums being played. The same
thing happens with the singing of the Bi high and then the
cycle low, but only Freddie sings it.
The drums then start and Brian May, guitarist, and Freddie
begin to sing about things like not liking Star Wars. They did
not sing in unison, however, as Freddie would sing one part
and then Brian would sing the other.
Same as in first chorus, however, on his last bicycle he goes a
little bit higher than any of the other bicycles.
1.1
Verse 2
0
1.4
Chorus
0
2.1
Interlude
To begin verse 2, the whole band sings a couple lyrics
together in unison. Then, after a couple seconds of the
whole band singing, Freddie sings a few lyrics at a low
pitch. Then the whole band sings a few lyrics, and then
Freddie sings a few lyrics at a low pitch again. Then, the
whole band sings “On your mark, get set, go!” And there is
a little guitar solo.
They sing the chorus the same, until about halfway through at
the 1.50 mark the group says bicycle repeatedly for about 5
seconds. Then they start ringing bicycle bells.
Guitar plays section of a scale repeatedly. Ascending melody.
Conjunct notes.
1
2.2
Verse 3
Same as verse 1, except different lyrics and little different
notes and chords. Mostly the same though.
5
2.4
7
Ending/Chorus
Chorus is the same except for Freddie yelling “Come On” half
way through the chorus.
 We
Are the Champions
0.0
Beginning
0
0.3
Chorus
5
1.1
Verse 1
3
1.5
Chorus
Piano played till 17 second mark, and then the electric
guitar comes in. They play at the same harmony till right
around the 26 second mark. Freddie sings at constant high
pitch for the first 26 seconds. At the 27 second marks, the
hard rock section comes in for several sections, while the
whole band sings together “On and on and on and on”.
Keeps the same pitch while singing, except for the part where
he sings “we keep on fighting” at a really high pitch and then
“till the end” at a low pitch. Then the whole band sings in
unison to finish out the chorus. Drums jump in for the chorus.
Freddie goes back to singing at the same pitch as he did at the
beginning of the song. The drums are played lightly in the
background. The guitar is played sparingly. The piano is played
throughout the verse. At the end of the verse, the guitar is
played louder to introduce the chorus.
One of the differences between the first chorus and this
chorus is the guitar plays a little section different.
0
2.2
0
Ending/Chorus
Chorus changes a tiny bit from the previous chorus. The guitar
plays a couple different notes and chords, from 2.40 to 2.52.
Ends with guitar slowly fading into the background.