What's covered
Key facts
It is accompanied by basso continuo (harpsichord plus a bass instrument).
It is built over a ground bass: a short bass line repeated throughout.
Purcell's 'Music for a While' is a Baroque song.
It uses word-painting, e.g. the melody falls on the word 'drop'.
Brian May's electric guitar solo is multi-tracked and harmonised.
It makes heavy use of studio production and overdubbing.
It features multi-tracked, layered close-harmony vocals.
Queen's 'Killer Queen' (1974) is a pop and rock song.
Word-setting is syllabic (one note per syllable) or melismatic (many notes per syllable).
Sample questions
A taste of the 11 questions in this topic, answers marked. Sign up to practise the full set with spaced repetition.
Purcell's 'Music for a While' is from which musical period?
- ✓Baroque
- •Classical
- •Modern pop
- •Romantic
Queen's 'Killer Queen' (1974) is in what style?
- •Baroque opera
- •Gregorian chant
- ✓Pop and rock
- •Punjabi bhangra
What repeats throughout 'Music for a While'?
- •A drum loop
- ✓A ground bass
- •A guitar riff
- •A sudden key change
What is a key vocal feature of 'Killer Queen'?
- •A single unaccompanied voice
- ✓Multi-tracked close harmonies
- •No vocals at all
- •Spoken word throughout
What technique matches the music to the meaning of the words?
- •Audio sampling
- •Guitar distortion
- •Stereo panning
- ✓Word-painting
How was 'Killer Queen' put together in the studio?
- •Acoustic and fully unplugged
- ✓Heavy overdubbing and production
- •Improvised live on stage
- •One live take with no edits
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