The key to these parts is intent aim for a smooth, round sound with no gaps between notes and play it like you mean it – you are a champion, after all. This trick of starting off a bass part with high-register melodic phrases is something that John uses to great effect again in ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’ (there’s a transcription here and a play-along video here).įor the prechorus and chorus sections (bar 14 onwards), things get more conventional. As for the harmonic in bar 9… It could be a fretted G, but it’s so buried in the mix that’s it’s hard to be certain (I missed this note entirely on the first 2 versions of the transcription!).

On to JD’s fantastic bass playing on ‘We Are The Champions’ the first verse features an unusual playing approach of high-register staccato fills that punctuate the gaps in Freddie Mercury’s vocal phrases – this is a good workout for ledger line reading and using the fretting hand to achieve a range of note lengths. We Are The Champions High-Register Highlights Queen – ‘We Are The Champions’ bass transcription.pdf Other hits that the researchers deemed to meet the ‘singalong’ criteria included ‘Ruby’ by the Kaiser Chiefs, ‘I’m Always Here’ by Jimi Jamison, ‘Brown Eyed Girl’ by Van Morrison, ‘Teenage Dirtbag’ by Wheatus, and ‘Livin’ on a Prayer’ by Bon Jovi, all of which are diehard staples of every wedding setlist I’ve ever played. *apparently a male vocal gets in touch with our inner primitive human selves and acts as a ‘subconscious war cry’ if you’ve been the only sober person at a wedding when this is the last song of the night then this theory seems far less ridiculous. ‘High-effort’ (and, often, high-pitched) vocals.Multiple pitch changes in the song’s ‘hook’.Before we get into own John Deacon’s melodic mastery on ‘We Are The Champions’, here’s something about the song that you might not know in 2011, a team of researchers from Goldsmith’s University, London, deemed that it is ‘the catchiest song of all time’ based on the fact that it ticks all the boxes required for a singalong hit:

We are the champions free download