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The overall use of chords highlights Queen’s blending of rock with more complex harmonic structures, moving beyond simple major & minor chords and incorporating 7th and inversions. Despite its pop/rock surface, “Somebody to Love” includes interesting modulation and chord choices that could be seen as more typical of more ‘classical’ forms of music.
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“Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy” by Queen from the album “A Night at the Opera” is essentially written in the key of C major. The song includes an intricate and quite peculiar chord progression full of chromatic and borrowed chords, highly characteristic of Queen’s eccentric and unique style of songwriting. In particular, Freddie Mercury, the primary songwriter, often incorporated complex harmonic structures from classical music into their rock/pop context.
The complexity and richness of the harmonics is among the aspects that make Queen’s songs stand out and, in this specific track, it contributes to the song’s upbeat yet nostalgic feel.
The song, “Somebody to Love” by Queen, utilizes the classic pop/rock harmonic structure while incorporating aspects of blues and gospel music. The harmonic progression is structured around common chords found in the key of G major. However, the way these chords are ordered and arranged is unconventional and adds depth to the song. It reflects the band’s interest in pushing the boundaries of the traditional harmonic structure common in pop music of that time. Queen is known for their innovative use of harmony, which they certainly showcase in this song.
“Paint It Black” by The Rolling Stones is a famous Rock song heavily influenced by the Indian classical form of music called Raga rock. The song is written in E minor and it has a very distinctively descending minor key tonality. The chords progression in the verse sequence doesn’t follow the conventional rules of western tonal harmony as it navigates through various key centers, showcasing the bands exploration of exotic and unconventional songwriting.
“Start Me Up” by The Rolling Stones is a classic rock song that utilizes a common I-IV chord progression primarily in the key of D major. Like many rock songs from their era, the arrangement is simple yet effective, designed to showcase the strong rhythm and melody rather than complex harmonies.
“Love of My Life” by Queen exhibits a very romantic and classical style, resonant of popular ballads primarily from the classical and romantic periods. The song beautifully plays with complex harmonies, frequent key changes and borrowings from parallel keys (modal mixture), which together yield a dramatic and emotional expression. Many of the chords used, including diminished chords, fully diminished seventh, major-minor seventh chords, and usage of secondary dominants are reminiscent of 19th-century Romantic music.
“Love of My Life” is a stunning ballad written by Freddie Mercury of Queen. The song is written in the key of A major and is primarily played on piano. It features a sophisticated and somewhat unconventional chord progression that serves as the foundation for Mercury’s versatile vocal performance. It’s arguably one of Queen’s more classical-influenced pieces and makes use of borrowed chord techniques frequently, which are commonly associated with the band’s flirtation with different musical styles, including rock, classical, and opera.
“Love Of My Life” by Queen, especially Verse 3, showcases a mix of simple and complex harmony, with many secondary dominants, borrowed chords, and diminished chords contributing to varying and shifting tonal centres. This makes for an emotional and contextually appropriate progression that fits well with the song’s lyrical content.
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