Guy recreates Queen's 'bombastic' vocal harmonies and high notes in epic tribute video
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Guy recreates Queen's 'bombastic' vocal harmonies and high notes in epic tribute video

If you're debating the most breathtaking harmonies in rock history, you might consider The Beatles' youthful blend, The Beach Boys' highly orchestrated beauty, or the stacked sweetness of Crosby, Stills & Nash. But if you're lobbying for wall-to-wall, glass-shattering power, there's only one clear winner: Queen, who famously displayed that gift on '70s epics like "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "Bicycle Race."Now, in a stunning tribute video, a musician and content creator pays homage to the band's multi-layered, over-the-top vocals.Jon Smith, leader of the Pennsylvania-based "theatrical rock band" Jon Smith's Voyages, details his approach in a viral Instagram clip titled "How to make your harmonies sound like Queen.""I have always been fascinated by Queen's bombastic harmonies," he writes in the caption. "Here's a little breakdown of how to achieve a similar harmony style!" Using a memorably vocal-rich section of 1978's "Don't Stop Me Now," he channels his inner Freddie Mercury to build an operatic web of vocals, piece by piece. See on Instagram "Like an atom bomb"In the video, Smith starts by recording a snippet of lead vocal (in this case, "like an atom bomb about to whoa-oh, whoa-oh, oh-explode!"). He then records that part two additional times to thicken it up. Next, he repeats this triple-take process for two harmony vocals, and then again one octave higher for each harmony, adding a lower-octave line for some bass presence. As he sings each line a cappella, it sounds more than a little goofy. But the full picture emerges when you hear the complete choral-style arrangement at the end.Naturally, many fans were impressed. Here are some of the best comments: "Epic!""Staggering""Dude how good is your range?? Fantastic! Love seeing things like this and playing around with harmonies!""Basically: record an entire choir