Understanding Bohemian Rhapsody's Opera

[@adamheywood113]

"What key are we in Freddie?" "Does it f*cking matter darling?" Utter genius.

[@Caltops78]

I can definitely hear that conversation. Love it

[@derpatel9760]

Accurate Freddie.

[@WayneFielder]

Freddie: Just follow me!

[@zbr76]

@@WayneFielder Ha! That's kind of what Bohemian Rhapsody was from a musical standpoint - Brian and Roger have said they were quite confused with all the gaps in the opera section the first time Freddie played the entire piano part to them.

[@mr.creeper6836]

So basically the music doesn't have to be well written if it sounds good This is a joke if someone doesn't get it

[@JeredtheShy]

The most important thing I learned from these two videos was that, no, it wasn't mighty Freddie hitting that crazy high note, it was the drummer, Roger, because the level of talent in this entire band was just ridiculous. Most bands are lucky to have one guy with that much talent, and they had four.

[@Inverse_to_Chaos]

You should watch how the making of Taylor’s Galileo sequence was portrayed in the 2018 biopic.

[@jantonkens9820]

Rogers voice was great, and this song isn't the only example. Rogers voice was as great as he himself was cute . God, what a boy crush I had at the time I discovered the song.. well before I understood 'having a crush' meant 😂😢😊👍👍💩😘😘🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🦆

[@SomniRespiratoryFlux]

Fun story: I was a marching band kid, and one night on a long bus ride my small friend group and I just kinda started singing the opera section of Bohemian Rhapsody, as you do when it's late enough to be tired and in a good mood from a good competition result and nobody's trying to sleep. And then when we get to the end one kid, one of the scrawniest kids in the band but also a tuba player, just freaking _belts_ Taylor's high note perfectly. Instead of continuing on to the hard rock section we all just kind of stared at him in awe. ...Good times. Also I really like that analysis of the song ending on a key change to F as being a sense of resolution and peace to the narrative after everything. It fits with the lyrics too - the refrain of "nothing really matters" brings about a sense of nihilism, but how it gets repeated at the end feels less like a depressive nihilism and more just an acceptance. Overall I can see how the "coming out" interpretation works so well and is so popular, as it maps pretty solidly onto both Mercury's life and the song in general, but I do also like how malleable and applicable the whole thing feels. It isn't so much a single story as it is a reflection of what you want it to be. And that's pretty rad.

[@dantreadwell7421]

Ok, the image of the scrawny kid playing the Tuba is just amusing anyway, but hitting that high note makes more sense, because Taylor is kind of a bean pole himself.

[@dctbass]

Roger Taylor has said that the whole meaning of the song is blindingly obvious. However, he didn't go on to specify what that was (at least not as the interview was edited and shown). The "blindingly obvious" interpretation is, I would suggest, that the protagonist has committed a murder ("Mama, just killed a man.....") and is facing the death penalty ("Spare him his life from this monstrosity..."). The operetta section is the pleading for mercy at the judicial stage of sentencing, the anger in the subsequent rock section is how he feels and reacts when those pleas fall on deaf ears and the sentence of death is imposed. If he is at peace or has release at the end, it is either because he has actually been executed and is dead and "at peace", having atoned for his sin, or, at least, he has reached the peace that comes with accepting the inevitability of his fate. That, to me, is the blindingly obvious, literal interpretation. However, like any other great art, there may be a lot more going on than the superficial, which may be there reflecting conscious, sub-conscious and unconscious choices based on the life and experience of the artist creating it. I had never heard before that it might in some way be a reflection of the public attitude to Freddie's sexuality and "coming out". It's an interesting thought and a plausible analogy.

[@buffysaviation]

Ah the days in marching band, so many amazing memories

[@froudaid]

"I think I'm gonna stick with damn" is something I will be borrowing from now on, thank you

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

For example: If I were well-read in music theory, I could understand exactly what makes 12tone's explanations so thoroughly meaningful, but since all I can understand is that I enjoy the videos, I think I'm gonna stick with damn.

[@thexalon]

"Simply put, you couldn't headbang to it" Thank you for remembering what has been traditional to do in that section, at least since the release of Wayne's World.

[@Inverse_to_Chaos]

Mike Myers in 2018: [“I’m in Love with My Car” is] the kind of song that teenagers can crank up the volume in their car and bang their heads to; Bohemian Rhapsody will *never* be that song.

[@matzegehtdichnixan6768]

​@@Inverse_to_Chaos I laughed so hard when I heard this line

[@EmreCanKorkmaz]

Mercury-Taylor-May are probably the mightiest, the most versatile and the most recognizable vocal ensemble of pop music history. (Yes, including The Temptations, Bee Gees, EW&F and all. Open for debate, of course.) The way their individual vocal colours perfectly blending together and complementing each other is a unique phenomenon that would only happen once, unless there exist multiple universes. It's magic, a miracle!

[@jca111]

I agree, and it was their personalities that blended as well. All totally different (May: intelligent, quiet, deliberate. Taylor: Loud Rock Star. Mercury: Flamboyant, eccentric showman) that copied their vocals.

[@SnowghostFilms]

More like it’s A Kind Of Magic, it’s A Miracle

[@griffinnovie4921]

Gotta put the Beach Boys in there as well

[@althealligator1467]

​@@griffinnovie4921 Is no one going to mention The Beatles? That's like the most recognizable thing about probably the only band that outdoes Queen in terms of importance. Oh and throw America in there as we're at it.

[@emmbeesea]

15:25 I have even more respect for you now with that FMA reference. This song is a primary example the embodiment of music allowing us to "feel thoughts". Not only is it widespread and epic, it's a story that simultaneously ends at the end of the song and continues the next time someone listens to it/plays it. Whenever I sit down at a piano, this is one of the first songs I think about, and if there's enough people wanting to jam, I can't refuse. Incredible analysis across these two videos!

[@aurelsiege159]

Lol I was just about to mention - Ed for short xD

[@saengtawansurakarn8642]

I burst out laughing. Savage.

[@DOOPEE451]

He's drawn Alphonse in another video before too

[@MonkeyJedi99]

I'm starting to feel like I'm no longer smart enough to enjoy the music I like.

[@leftyguitarist8989]

For early live performances of the song, they actually open the concert with the opera/hard rock section then a few songs later, do a medley consisting of the ballad section (the intro was never played live) followed by the first half of Killer Queen and the heavy section of The March Of The Black Queen before returning to the outro of Bohemian Rhapsody and finishing things off with an (almost) instrumental rendition of Bring Back That Leroy Brown. Interestingly, this medley actually kind of gives the song a slightly different meaning, as the concepts of wealth and power that are present in Killer Queen and The March Of The Black Queen respectively aren't really present in Bohemian Rhapsody and throwing Bring Back That Leroy Brown at the end gives a much more upbeat ending than God Saves The Queen (which follows Bohemian Rhapsody on A Night At The Opera), kind of like an inverse of Guns N' Roses My World.

[@baylinkdashyt]

Oh dear *ghod* no. That's almost as bad as what the Moody's did to Nights In White Satin, which abortion compelled me to skip any later shows they played near me.

[@feeno1188]

@@baylinkdashyt honestly the Bohemian Rhapsody/Killer Queen/March of the Black Queen medley is really really good

[@TheCatLady65]

That's not the way they performed it the three times I saw them live, back in the 1970s.

[@feeno1188]

@@TheCatLady65 depends, when that was. They did this mostly in 1975 and maybe 1976 but I'm not sure about that.

[@TheCatLady65]

@@feeno1188 Source?

[@rmdodsonbills]

I too am a vocalist and, yeah, "Damn." Nail on the head. Also, the thing that really stood out to me in this video (and the previous one) is how interesting the vocals really are in this song. There is a *lot* going on here and it wasn't until I heard the vocal lines by themselves that I really noticed the slides and other decorative aspects that are working here. That's including the "Damn" note. I mean, that leading slide was very possibly a practical necessity to get to the top but it fits in with the aesthetic of the section and the song as a whole, too. It's a good artistic choice over and above the practical considerations. Contrast that with "Take on Me" by a-ha and their analogous "Damn" note. The vocalist there pops it (kudos) which is consistent with the synth-pop aesthetic of that song, very different from the classical-operatic-rock aesthetic we're dealing with here.

[@YigitAydnn]

I adored when you drew a Metapod whilst you go "metaphor" at around 3:03

[@z00man909]

I just saw that and was like is that a freaking metapod lol

[@genevievehoskins6829]

Speaking of rock operas, would you ever consider analyzing "Jesus of Suburbia"?

[@caseyhamm8822]

the song that introduced me to through-composed music? absolutely yes, i would love to see that

[@TobeyFairre7861]

This

[@snackspositive]

Greenday is rather uninteresting though it was the band which made me first pick up the guitar. There's way more out there than the top 10 rock charts. Like Mastodons new Album deserves more attention.

[@caseyhamm8822]

@@snackspositive you clearly haven’t listened deep enough yet. 12tone actually has a video on the boulevard of broken dreams that i highly recommend

[@Corr_Crow]

Dude I would die for that

[@rossmonasweebro]

Listening to intelligent people talking with passion about something they know in a depth I never will is what I love most about KZbin. Thank you for being the latest such discovery.

[@Producelikeapro]

Such an amazing video! Wow, knocking it out of the park again!

[@TheMister123]

4:16 - "When you're analyzing music, it's easy to get caught up in notes and chords, and to convince yourself that that's the real secret to musical complexity and interest: that what makes any given song great is the number of cool chords it has. But that's not true." No, of course not. It's about the number of cool time signatures it has. Or analog synthesizers. Either way. 😁

[@carlfishy]

Which just makes me remember that Queen went out of their way to print "No synthesizers!" on the record sleeve of Night at the Opera.

[@badgasaurus4211]

@@carlfishy How the mighty fall

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

Really, it's just about whether you can go "wow, this is a banger."

[@Alfonso162008]

@@carlfishy In all of their records from the 70s, actually, but yeah.

[@ctrlcf]

Found the Tool fan

[@nj1255]

Bohemian Rhapsody is really a masterpiece of both songwriting and of the recording techniques available at the time. Recreating it today, with all the new technology available, would still be an incredibly difficult task!

[@BrewSir]

Thanks for this. Really gave me a much more nuanced perspective and newfound appreciation for the composition. I wonder what kind of music they could have continued to create

[@smogstreaming]

What you might find interesting is that Freddie wrote fewer and fewer songs with piano, so he could be more active and "prance around" on stage during live performances. Makes me wonder what they could have done with another pianist in the group as well.

[@spiderodoom]

Rest In Peace to the legend, taken too soon by an outbreak the government didn’t care about.

[@brent3522]

I rarely get goosebumps when listening to lectures but, to quote 12Tone, "damn".

[@baylinkdashyt]

Thank you for mentioning the gong. NOTHING drives me further up a wall in music than covers -- and parodies -- that don't close on the gong; that's kind of like recording Jingle Bells without, well, *jingle bells*.

[@zack31191]

Yay part 2 just in time for my afternoon coffee. Good timing.

[@alansouthall8221]

Haha love it when that happens

[@austinhernandez2716]

I just woke up at noon after long work week

[@friend_trilobot]

And my morning coffee

[@potsy86]

It's 6am here so morning coffee but same!

[@derekfnord]

I love your use of the pennyfarthing bicycle, especially when mentioning "obscure references." 🤣 Be seeing you!

[@Rubrickety]

I just caught the Cracking the Cryptic doodle. Your refs are magnificent. I suspect most viewers hadn’t got a Scooby Doo.

[@sm3ttz]

Love the reference to "Cracking The Cryptic" :D

[@0mn1prism59]

All this art rock really makes me wish there was an analysis of Lark’s Tongues In Aspic or Starless. Theres so much going on in those songs, I just wish I had the theory chops and the time to analyze them myself

[@IanDunbar1]

Would *love* to see a breakdown of Starless!

[@happycamperds9917]

Hopefully not all 5 parts of Lark's Tounge, that would take awhile lol.

[@neilerator]

I don't have any clue on music theory (I always sucked at music in school) but I just like music as an art form in general. It's really fascinating what kind of thought can go into music and how effects can affect us without ever knowing about how or why they are done.

[@RIPSLYMEFAN]

Why am I laughing at sus. The imposter has ruined me

[@captaintulio2441]

It ruined us all dude, don’t worry

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

I recoiled in sheer terror.

[@eljanrimsa5843]

You mean there is an imposter among us in Bohemian Rhapsody?

[@petergao96]

*I see the little silhouette of a man-*

[@abecede4389]

2:50 Cracking the Cryptic! How cool is that!

[@theunwelcome]

I THOUGHT I recognized that!

[@AlRoderick]

12Tone shows up in the comments over there once in a while, and he even submitted a puzzle that Simon did on the channel last year.

[@SpriteGuard]

Stunning. Absolutely beautiful. The most beautiful doodle reference I have ever seen. I can't hardly believe it.

[@RangeWilson]

1.) The doodles were next-level! I was laughing the whole time! 2.) Calling out Rick Beato at 4:25 3.) "Working my way back to B flat... with a burNING love inside..."

[@mrfahrenheit677]

there isnt one true way to analyze music. rick beato isnt wrong, and neither is 12 tone

[@l.alexander4696]

Beato has opinions with which I disagree, but his music knowledge is respectable

[@morethen9000]

I also thought it was a call out to Rick, lol.

[@SubtleHawk]

Weird chords do help when you want to make unique non-diatonic melodies, which I think is what Beato means when he talks about chords. He has talked about two chord songs and simple 4 chord loop songs that he enjoys, it's not all just super complicated jazz fusion modulating messes that he likes.

[@TimACroninMusic]

9:27 "I think I'm gonna stick with 'damn!'" I couldn't possibly agree more.

[@mattrowntree9369]

12 tone: "Damn." Everyone: Damn right!

[@laurentboetzle4238]

Damn, that was both a doodle and harmony masterclass. That was impressive, many thanks for sharing this and congrats for the succes of your channel 👑

[@house-in-order]

As I've gotten better at making music I've found myself more often understanding how great music was made while I listen to it. With this song I've always gotten so distracted by how good it is that I miss the details. Thanks for breaking it down and giving me more to think about :)

[@austinhernandez2716]

I just woke up to this, first You can make a hundred videos on this song alone and I'd watch every single one of them

[@Mirro18]

I think one of the most important things for me about the outro is that, when the guitar comes it doesn't quite sound like a guitar to me. I always think in the first moment that it is a voice that is singing softly, talking quietly, but it is just far away that i can only hear that it is speaking not what it is saying and I think that always fits amazing with the... feel of the song at that point. Something important might have been said. A last goodbye. A celebration of who you might have been. A promise of a greater good... whatever it is... but anyways the wind blows...

[@patricksommer3971]

That "auxilary 6/4 A chord that is kinda a D major" is not uncommon in Queen's Music. Brian May does it all the time, like in the Intro to It's Late. I never had a Name for that chord, I thought of it as a 'big' sus4 chord!

[@hakonberg8003]

Amazingly deep, informative and entertaining analysis! I have to concede that I used to be annoyed by your drawings and actually tried to avoid looking at them, as I felt they distracted from the main message. But I have changed my mind: they are funny and pertinent, at times there are hidden gems there....like when u say the word "ambuguous" and draw a rabbit/duck 😁

[@miahthorpatrick1013]

I personally can’t think about this song without thinking of its iconic inclusion in Wayne’s World. So this brief subtle acknowledgment at 11:15 was good enough for me. And I’m glad you did!

[@Dogsport1]

Agreed. I assume a ton of people were introduced to the song by that movie, and I think it is one of those snap shots of a certain age demographic. Simply put, you think of this movie when you hear it, or you don't.

[@laurenrogers]

People say this song is overrated to sound contrarian and cool but the fact is that it’s objectively brilliant

[@Pablo360able]

I can’t believe a music theory video just made me cry because of how beautiful the song it’s talking about is. Oh wait, yes I can, that already happened with your videos on Hallelujah and Carry On Wayward Son.

[@zachlewis9751]

I would love a video on Innuendo by Queen, but I understand it isn’t a big popular songs like the rest so I’m sure it would never get consideration.

[@ospero7681]

Uh...have you *seen* some of the songs that have been analyzed on this channel? "Innuendo" would easily make the cut popularity-wise (though perhaps not right now, seeing as how it's basically "Bohemian Rhapsody, part II").

[@eyeonit469]

They went back to their roots using the 20 years of experience they had gained

[@andreasheld2362]

Amazing work as always. And thanks for taking the time to dig deep into this masterwork, mate. :-)

[@CJ_theMusiclover]

7:20 I had to pause for minute when I saw how you illustrated the sus chord. 💀💀💀

[@Jonathan-zl7ej]

Sussy Baka

[@janekalbinsky]

Can't wait to get home and watch! Thank you for the outstanding work!

[@Vubbss]

9:18 so um... I actually thought that this was the guitar. I thought that was the first note of the rock section.

[@copski9361]

hehe there is some ringing guitar feedback in the background at the point. But yup thats a human doing that lmao

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

Yeah, it's fun when you realize you didn't notice something like that the first hundred times you've heard it.

[@playgroundchooser]

I can't hear the rock part without going nuts. It's so big but so short, it just leaves you wanting more. 🤘

[@1oolabob]

I genuinely didn't know music analysis could be this much fun. Bravo 12tone!

[@memeful4]

I've never seen anyone write and sing with such pain and passion as Freddie, truely lived every minute of it. Watching ur video to the end-note, brought tears...wow he wrote his autobiography, years before he knew exactly how he'd wanted his exit.. Hats off dear-- to ur brilliant, breathtaking, and humourous analysis. Thanks for taking me onto a whole new horizon.

[@NONFamers]

This is the best analysis of "Bohemian Rhapsody" I have yet come across. Thanks for sharing!

[@Caltops78]

My guitar teacher and I have been going over music theory for a year now. It’s still confusing but not as confusing as it once was. Your videos are a great learning tool. Specially for some of my all time favorite songs. Love behind the scenes of music. I will definitely keep supporting this channel

[@SharkyOverlord]

That Cracking the Cryptic symbol at 2:49 just sealed the deal for me. I will be binging all your videos now

[@funmonkey0018]

I am so happy I have found your channel! I’m a jazz performance major in college at the moment, and I just cannot get enough of your videos now that I have found them. Please keep doing what you do!! And thank you for all of it!

[@MoiraOBrien]

Just WOW! These two videos gave an amazing insight into the amazing musicality that was Freddie and Queen.

[@helleye311]

Wait so you're telling me that this is not only like 4 different music genres all in one song, but it also has 5 consecutive V to I resolutions in 5 different keys AND a Cb? I'm far from knowledgeable about music theory but I know enough to appreciate Freddie even more for this one. Didn't know it was possible.

[@vickielawson3114]

Terrific analysis! I think it’s pretty clear that BR is the most dynamic, complex, diverse, expansive hit song in all of popular music. It’s truly genius.

[@cajonaconaquetebotou]

A lot of beautiful work in every way. Both, Queen composing it and you explaining it. Thanks, sincerly.

[@enriquekahn9405]

I can sorta follow most of the other videos on this channel but I'm not too proud to admit this one went way over my head

[@YourMsRightHere]

The way your voice went deep for "damn."

[@JohnSmithiuyytw]

Excellent video. As it has so much going and such mixed styles it becomes a great example of how musical analysis actually works.

[@thelorax9622]

Queen were my first band - I spent many hours listening to A Night At The Opera when it came out in 1975 (I was six). They continue to blow me away nearly 50 years later. Thanks for this dissection - as a non musician, it reveals how complex a song can be, and this is one of the most complex songs out there. As an abstract painter who can't draw, I love the sketches as a means of adding to the description. Subscribed.

[@Copyright_Infringement]

I feel a very deep appreciation for Bohemian Rhapsody now I also did before watching, but that's beside the point. This was a fantastic analysis; take a bow

[@BradyPostma]

Hey, 12tone. Never stop talking about cords. This stuff is *_BRILLIANT._* *_NEVER_* stop _talking about cords!_

[@bradarmstrong3952]

OMG, sir! You are a trooper for analyzing this one! Great work and just wow ...

[@namenamename390]

Side note: Playing quarter note triplets on the bass drum while playing quarters on the hi hat is pretty hard.

[@arkadye]

I didn't believe your so I asked my friend who's a drummer and he said "yeah it's really hard".

[@namenamename390]

@@arkadye oh it's good hearing that from another drummer because in the back of my mind there was a voice telling me that it's just me being bad at drumming

[@MaggaraMarine]

They are quarter note triplets... Also, not really that difficult in this case. I would think of it as 12/8 instead of 4/4 with triplets, and it becomes a lot easier to understand. Don't think of them as two different rhythms going on at the same time - think of them as one rhythm: 1 & a 2 & a 3 & a 4 & a HH: X X X X SD: X X BD: X X X X X X Basically, count ONE (and) A TWO AND (a) THREE (and) A FOUR AND (a) I would expect most drummers to be able to play this without an issue. I mean, I don't see myself as a "real" drummer and have no issue with playing this beat. It is a polyrhythm, but you don't need to approach it that way: you can just see the whole thing in 12/8, and think about how the parts work together, not separately.

[@namenamename390]

@@MaggaraMarine great, so I do just suck at drums after all

[@namenamename390]

@@MaggaraMarine ok, it's past midnight for me but this would keep me up all night if I didn't wrap my head around this. Grabbed some sticks and did some air drumming. So I could do it the way you described, but not at full speed. My brain won't let me count that fast. What I found out is that I am able to play it at full speed if I think of it in a way that sounds ludicrous: the second bass drum is practically an 8th note in swing away from the 1 beat. The third bass drum is as far apart from the snare as the snare is from the second bass, so these three hits are evenly spaced from one another. I know this sounds like I'm doing five backflips to achieve this, I know that it's weird that this is easier for me to comprehend than 12/8, but I think the difference is I can _feel_ this method.

[@xxPenjoxx]

When you talked about planing in that first section from part 1 it made me think of Too Much Too Young by the Specials 'Call me immature Call me a poser I'd love to spread manure in your bed of roses' I've never heard the similarity before.

[@boomerboi9642]

Oh man I was waiting for this video! So excited!

[@ElNeroDiablo]

About 45 minutes breaking down the various complexities in a 6 minute rock opera of the gods, and that 45 minutes is well-spent listening to the break down of how each piece operates and meshes with the others across the whole song.

[@jenhalbert3001]

Thanks so much, kid, this had been incredibly cool and confirms for me that this really is the best rock song ever.

[@JeremyPigeon]

Just wanna say that I got that Malmsteen's Far Beyond The Sun reference! Watched that video so many times.

[@mingnrich]

I hear the Rock Section as being in Eb, while spending a lot of time in Bb. I think of the Bb section as a “sub-section”, so while it’s happening everything resolved around Bb, but that sub-section /itself/ resolves back to Eb. IOW I hear Bb ultimately as the V, and all things that happen relative to Bb is similar to like how a sub-dominant points to the dominant which itself points to the tonic (except in this case it’s not sub-dominants of Bb so much as a blues tonality). It’s actually a very “classical” things to do (a sub-section on the V), and I think the blending of blues ideas in the short-term but classical ideas in the long-term is how this part is able to fit so well into the song and not /really/ be a departure from what preceded it.

[@dijo7n983]

I definitely agree that the rock section feels like it's in Eb. Spending so much time on the V (Bb) is what gives the section a lot of its tension imo

[@WaterShowsProd]

I always loved that trade off to the piano, like it rose high up out of the tumult.

[@erikboncoref.7020]

As always, an excellent analysis, but in the ending section, when the instruments leave one by one, the immediate change from the Cm-Gm section to an Abm chord to finally make the resolution to Eb actually helps a lot to express how, even if they head to a "happy resolution", it gets there through rather tortuous ways. The sames happens when it modulates to F, as it goes there through a minor II-V (Gø-C7), it sounds more like a resignation onto taking this new path in life than a "happy ending", because "nothing really matters"

[@ShawnTewes]

Re: that encircling section. Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake Waltz did something similar towards the end with a brief flat II-V-I in the key of A with the string melody A#-G#-A, much like the bass melody B-Ab-Bb here in Bohemian Rhapsody.

[@michaelfitzurka5659]

Masterpiece with analysis to match. Thank you.

[@stevencolborne6845]

Every time I watch your analysis , I realize that, the music I love is more complicated, and thought out than I realize.

[@1Henrink]

For the first time I "Googled it" that someone said and boy I'm not disappointed in doing so. I totally get your point. Just accents on top of a classical arrangement!

[@deadSalesman_GD]

I would think of the hard rock section in 12/8. It uses way less tuplet brackets (basically just a couple duplet brackets in the vocals and maybe the guitar instead of triplet brackets the whole time) and it makes the polyrhythm look way more friendly and it makes it easier to count and approach if you’re trying to learn it.

[@1purplepanda]

I’m currently in a musical called we will rock you, the whole sound track is all queen music, with bohemian rhapsody as the finale. I think it’s really interesting how pretty much the whole plot is building up to bohemian rhapsody, for example, the main characters are Galileo Figaro and scaramouche.

[@johndododoe1411]

Using an obscure outdated chord pattern makes perfect sense on an Opera themed album like "A Night At The Opera".

[@DavieJoey]

I absolutely love your efforts made in these videos. Phenomenal work

[@tinienne_rock2214]

At 18:03, I feel like the B and the Ab chords act as a subV and a bVII respectively, both creating tension and wanting to resolve to Bb, which is a cool movement, especially as an enclosure.

[@markoknezhevikj4144]

Cracking The Cryptic logo!

[@glitchxero4687]

An excellent analysis of one of rock's greatest songs of all time. Freddie Mercury was a musical genius, and this song proves it. Props to the DJ who took a chance on something different and put this song out there, turning a cult classic b-side into a massive and well-deserved smash hit.

[@Micah_4D]

LOL! Street Sharks == obscure. Loving all the 80s cartoon references in both videos (Thundercats, Voltron, etc.). You also did a great Strong Bad last video.

[@guilhermecads]

I can say that I understand like 20% of what you say, and it's still awesome. Thank you a lot for this much quality!! And do Innuendo at some point, please!

[@matthewvreeke9872]

Could you please do an “Understanding Kashmir” by Led Zeppelin?

[@Timmie1995]

The end of the rock section, by slowing down and resolving, really feels like I've been running for something, then escape that threat and have the opportunity to catch my breath again.

[@cadrian]

I love the conclusion. Thanks for the great journey!

[@Xiuhtec]

The Cracking the Cryptic logo when mentioning cryptic took me by surprise.

[@kevingross4141]

Three Prisoner references on the 6th, Troubled Protagonist AND Obscure References. The genius! It's staggering!

[@michaelclements5793]

The rock section is in Eb. That's my opinion, in disagreement with 12tone. My main argument is the part in Ab matches better as the IV of Eb. In most places where it sits on Bb, I'm really hearing it as a dominant. Also the final resolution out of the rock section ending run-ups is to Eb. I understand why Bb mixolydian is considered, but I just don't agree with it. This is only an opinion. Don't flay me.

[@patrickv.3979]

You know, I replied to a comment of yours in the last few days, about Cracking the Cryptic, and I'm very happy that you included that tiny reference at 2:45 haha

[@AmandaKaymusic]

Wow. There is so much going on. Thanks for breaking it down to bite sized peices. Half an elephant Tigger and Eeyore. Tritone movement Polyrhythms Implied bass and so much more Fascinating. Thanks 12 Tone.

[@GreatBigBore]

Thanks for reducing the number of flats in my day❤️

[@jeypsocampo97]

On a side note, your doodles are getting wayyyy better!

[@hubbsllc]

3:03 "Obscure references" - I get it. Be seeing you.

[@livingdeadbtu]

I am surprised no one mentioned that much of the operatic sections of this song were sung in the style of an ancient greek chorus play, complete with switching left to right to follow where they would be on stage.

[@WayneFielder]

YES YES YES! My High School AP Music midterm didn't go into this much detail but we land on about the same spot! Don't help me much almost 40 years later with 35 years of IT career but I'll still take it!

[@alexreid1173]

The idea that this is a coming out song always made sense to me, and I think musically it makes sense as well. But also might be projecting. I think you could argue that this could be applied to anything you struggle with and then accept.

[@DavidBMaas]

I enjoyed the Cracking the Cryptic logo appearing at 2:47

[@ickysan]

I'm surprised you never addressed the "...never, never, (NEVER, never, never) NEVER LET ME GO-OH-OHH-OHHHHH"/cascading "bell"-vocal part. It's (to me) one of the most death-defying parts of that Operetta section (and there are tons of them). One thing I'm glad you address is that, though the musicianship of 70s rock musicians far surpassed that of modern rock musician's knowledge, in terms of basic harmonic structure/theory knowledge, they (being rock & roll guys in a rock & roll world) didn't always "play by the rules", and often did things that, to adhere to a more bluesy tack - and to create a certain aesthetic a lot of rockers came from (i.e.; Queen, Bowie. T-Rex, Sweet, Sparks, Roxy Music, et al), they'd sometimes, even knowing full well they were breaking musical harmony convention, throw the book out the proverbial window to create a mood, an effect, an emotional moment. It's one of my favorite aspects of *early 70s* Rock music (the late 70s was the birth of Punk Rock and much of everything got thrown out the window in terms of musicianship, tonality, talent, effectively creating a sort of musical "dark ages" - though even that era was not completely devoid of merit) and one I'd love to hear you do a think piece on. Thank you for so effectively dissecting this masterpiece of classic(al) Rock music from the last century. It's truly a masterpiece (I recently acquired the solo stems from the session and they're astonishing, if not only for the pyrotechnic, death-defying feats of musical metallurgy, then surely for the sheer amount of space they took up; *every bit* of unused tape was used, with vocal, guitar and even drum tracks being squeezed in to every nook & cranny because they only had 24 tracks-!!!) and knowing exactly WHY and HOW it is is a treat and extremely enlightening. Thank you.❤👑💥💫

[@groundfox]

The opera section is surprisingly good, especially when i hear it for the first time