Queen’s Brian May giving a tutorial on how to play ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ is so soothing

18 December 2020, 12:36 | Updated: 5 October 2023, 11:43

A video of Brian May breaking down Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody' by showing exactly how to play it on the guitar, is an incredible insight into one of the most famous songs - and guitarists - the world has ever seen.

Brian May calmly showcasing how to play the solo from 'Bohemian Rhapsody' by slowly playing the famous song is the satisfying video we didn't know we needed.

Filmed in 1983, the tutorial shows the Queen guitarist demonstrating the technical ways to achieve the famous 'Bohemian Rhapsody' solo in a calm soothing voice, as the camera zooms in on his acoustic set.

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Despite Brian referring to making the guitar 'scream', the video is surprisingly relaxing and gives a fascinating insight into the exact workings of the track and how it is broken down into particular chords.

In an extended version of the orginal video, Brian May covers both famous and less well known Queen songs, including 'It's Late', 'Dead On Time', 'Somebody To Love', 'It's A Hard Life', 'Jesus', 'Father To Son' and 'Crazy Little Thing Called Love'.

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Produced by Star Licks Productions, Brian May was just one of the numerous artists to agree to be filmed for a tutorial series, which included Tony Lommi from Black Sabbath, acclaimed guitarist Wolf Marshall and Earth, Wind and Fire's guitarist Al McKay.

The brainchild of producer Mark Freed, the instructional video was recorded at Sarm West Studios in London and after being published in 1983 was re-released ten years later in 1993.

Speaking of the project, Brian May revealed he was the first star to agree to be filmed.

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"Mark initially came to me with an idea for making audio cassettes of guitarists explaining their techniques. It seemed a good one and we arranged to meet and make it happen," said Brian.

Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody - Brian May Guitar Tutorial

"But I said... if we’re going to the trouble of recording this stuff, why not film it as well, and make it into a Video Cassette?!

"So we made a ‘pilot’ video, and people liked it, and this became the template for a whole collection of videos which, I think, stand up very well to this day."

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And stand up to this day they do. Queen is still as popular as ever and saw their latest album, Live Around The World with frontman Adam Lambert, going to number one in the UK in October 2020 – the band's first chart-topping album in 25 years.

On December 3, 2020 Queen's Brian May, Adam Lambert and Roger Taylor released the official music video for 'Don't Stop Me Now' featuring photos and videos sent in by fans.

The four-minute music video is a tribute to all of Queen's followers around the world and solely features footage and pictures sent in by fans during the COVID-19 pandemic, which came after the band asked fans to send in their content for the special project.

See more: Gold's Hall of Fame Top 300: Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody' is voted the best song of all time

Brian May has also recently turned his hand to the festive season by releasing a Christmas song with longtime collaborator Kerry Ellis.

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The original holiday song 'One Beautiful Christmas Day' was written by the pair and sees Ellis on vocals and May on guitar.

The festive tune is an unusual departure for the star, but one he feels is right for 2020.

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“The time is right for a new Christmas Classic – and this is it!!" he said. "One Beautiful Christmas wish for togetherness at the end of a tough year."

Thank you Brian, we couldn't have said it better ourselves...

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