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<body class='hmmessage'><div dir='ltr'>Dear Nick,<div><br></div><div> A few quick examples, not archaic, but definitely pre-Queen:</div><div><br></div><div>- John Coltrane, alternate ending to "Mr. Syms" (Coltrane Plays the Blues) - a slightly different formula</div><div>- "Lady Madonna," the Beatles, coda</div><div>- "One Note Samba" and "The Red Blouse"--more complex moving harmonies over pedal/quasi-pedal melody</div><div>- measures 5-6 of Ray Noble's "The Very Thought of You" in most arrangements (a possible inspiration for Freddie M? That's one standard he likely heard)</div><div><br></div><div>(pauvre monsieur Fétis!)</div><div><br></div><div>MWM</div><div>Trent, Pbgh Oshawa</div><div><br><div><div id="SkyDrivePlaceholder"></div><hr id="stopSpelling">From: braae.nick@gmail.com<br>Date: Thu, 11 Apr 2013 08:41:46 +1200<br>To: Smt-talk@lists.societymusictheory.org<br>Subject: [Smt-talk] Queen's Harmonic Technique<br><br>Hi all,<div><br></div><div>I am carrying out some extensive analysis of British rock band Queen's music for my PhD. In a number of Freddie Mercury-penned songs, he employs a particular harmonic device/cliche, in which one note of the chord (usually the root or flat-seventh) acts as a pedal and two other voices ascend stepwise through a major third with a chromatic passing note. In C major, it would be something like this:</div><div><br></div><div>Upper Voice: <span class="ecxApple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre;"> </span> C<span class="ecxApple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre;"> </span>C <span class="ecxApple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre;"> </span>C<span class="ecxApple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre;"> </span>C<span class="ecxApple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre;"> </span></div><div>Middle Voice:<span class="ecxApple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre;"> </span>E<span class="ecxApple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre;"> </span>F<span class="ecxApple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre;"> </span>Gb<span class="ecxApple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre;"> </span>G</div><div>Lower Voice:<span class="ecxApple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre;"> </span>C<span class="ecxApple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre;"> </span>D<span class="ecxApple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre;"> </span>Eb<span class="ecxApple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre;"> </span>E, resolving (probably) to F major.</div><div><br></div><div>From a theoretical perspective, it's simple voice-leading with a chromatic passing note, and it can evidently be voiced differently (as Freddie did throughout Bohemian Rhapsody or as ABBA do in So Long, for example). But I wonder whether anybody knows the stylistic origins of this particular voicing (i.e. pedal note as the top voice)? I have a sense of it being a barbershop, or ragtime, or vaudeville piano technique, but if anyone had come across this before in older popular contexts, I would be delighted to hear about it (you can reply to the list, or to me directly at <a href="mailto:braae.nick@gmail.com">braae.nick@gmail.com</a>).</div><div> </div><div>Thanks very much,</div><div><br></div><div>Regards,</div><div><br></div><div>Nick Braae</div><div><br></div><div>PhD Candidate</div><div>University of Waikato</div><div>Hamilton</div><div>New Zealand</div><br>_______________________________________________
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