In Theory: Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody' and The Circle of Fifths

By Leila Abdul-Rauf

The musical concept of the Circle of Fifths may sound mysterious, but it's actually quite logical and has become a cornerstone of understanding music theory. This essential music theory concept takes all twelve notes of a chromatic scale and their corresponding key signatures and organizes them into a circle, with the key of C at the top. Moving clockwise down the circle, the notes are arranged one fifth interval apart. Moving counterclockwise down the circle, they are arranged one fourth interval apart, until arriving at C again.

As you move down the outer circle clockwise, the number of sharps for each major scale increases by one: C major has zero sharps, G major has one sharp, D major has two sharps, etc. Likewise, moving counterclockwise from the top, the number of flats for each major scale increases by one: C major has zero flats, F major has one flat, Bb major has two flats, and so forth.

So is the Circle of Fifths just a pretty picture of all key signatures? Surely not – it can be a powerful songwriting tool, and Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" makes for an iconic example of how to use it. This six-minute masterpiece dazzles the listener with its constant key changes and genre shifts from power ballad to operetta to hard rock.

These key changes may come across as random (and some of them are quite jarring!), but the Circle of Fifths can help demystify them. The Circle of Fifths diagram clearly demonstrates how two key signatures that are a fourth or a fifth apart are closely related, because their scales differ only by one flat or sharp. From a songwriting standpoint, this is useful for making smooth transitions between keys; smooth key transitions are satisfying and make "sense" to our ears.

The first verse section of "Bohemian Rhapsody" uses a common rock-and-roll chord structure in the key of Bb:

Bb – Gmin – Cmin – Fmaj

I – VI – II - V

This chord progression is repeated in the key of Eb. Why is this a good compositional move? Eb is only one counterclockwise step down the circle from Bb – and are only a fourth apart – so you know their key signatures are closely related, despite the numerous chord changes. The relatedness of the key signatures makes for a smooth transition that sounds satisfying.

The operatic moments begin around the 3:06 mark ("I see a little silhouetto of a man, Scaramouche, Scaramouche"), a piano riff alternating between A major and D major chords. A seemingly random and transitional chord change appears several seconds later ("Thunderbolts of lightning, very very frightening me"):

C# – F# – B(aug) – Emaj – Amaj

Find C# in the Circle of Fifths diagram above and you'll see that this chord progression is simply a counterclockwise movement up the circle. Not so random now, is it?

"Bohemian Rhapsody" may sound impossibly complex at first listen, but despite its many mood and key changes, it all feels "right" somehow. The Circle of Fifths helps to explain that, in concrete and visual terms -- a logical method to Queen's madness.

Leila Abdul-Rauf is a multi-instrumentalist and composer based in Oakland, CA. A private guitar and voice teacher, Leila has recorded and performed locally and internationally for two decades in countless music projects.

Circle of Fifths diagram by Manuela Gößnitzer is in the public domain (CC0 1.0).