FREDDIE

MERCURY

John HancockMusic 1010

EARLY LIFE 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.

EARLY LIFE CONT. 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.

QUEEN 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.

QUEEN CONT. 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."

SOLO 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”

DEATH 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.

DEATH CONT. 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.

HISTORY OF MUSIC COMPOSITIONS 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.

HISTORY OF MUSIC COMPOSITIONS 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.

HISTORY OF MUSIC COMPOSTIONS 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.

LISTENING GUIDE Bohemian Rhapsody0.0

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IntroductionBand 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.

0.4

5

Verse 1 Part 1Freddie 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.

1.2

2

Verse 1 Part 2Piano continues. Drum enters. His voice crescendos at the beginning of this part of the verse. Towards the end of the verse, his voice decrescendos.

1.5

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Verse 2 Part 1Brief 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.

LISTENING GUIDE CONT.2.

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Verse 2 Part

2

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.

3.

05

Bridge 1The 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.

4.

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Bridge 2Features 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.

4.

50

InterludePiano 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.

5.

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EndingMaterial 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.

LISTENING GUIDE Bicycle Race

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BeginningStarts 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.

0.2

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ChorusFreddie 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.

0.3

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Verse 1The 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.

0.5

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ChorusSame as in first chorus, however, on his last bicycle he goes a little bit higher than any of the other bicycles.

LISTENING GUIDE CONT.

1.1

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Verse 2To 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.

1.4

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ChorusThey 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. 

2.1

1

InterludeGuitar plays section of a scale repeatedly. Ascending melody. Conjunct notes.

2.2

5

Verse 3Same as verse 1, except different lyrics and little different notes and chords. Mostly the same though.

2.4

7

Ending/

Chorus

Chorus is the same except for Freddie yelling “Come On” half way through the chorus.

LISTENING GUIDE We Are the Champions

0.0

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BeginningPiano 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”.

0.3

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ChorusKeeps 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.

1.1

3

Verse 1Freddie 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.

1.5

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ChorusOne of the differences between the first chorus and this chorus is the guitar plays a little section different.

2.2

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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.

THE END