Piano cover of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’

Thomas Yu, a periodontist and gifted classical pianist (winner of the 2016 Cliburn International Amateur Piano Competition) based in Calgary had some extra time on his hands for piano-related projects (due to COVID-19 concerns). So he did a piano cover of Queen’s 1975 hit Bohemian Rhapsody.

He recorded it on his home piano and used three GoPros and a Zoom recorder (the video was edited later by Matthew Holdenried).

Explaining his approach to making this piano cover, Yu says he started Bohemian Rhapsody by listening to it over and over, second by second, writing down every note from every voice and instrument.

In case you’re a piano student and wondering why “Bohemian Rhapsody” by the Queen is so hard to learn. Maybe you’re not doing this – putting more effort.

“It took me a couple of days to hash out the notes, and during that time, I was so amazed by Freddie Mercury’s songwriting. He was a true genius. My pop preferences are all over the place, but it’s the big works that tend to attract me to do a piano cover.”

Yu says his favourite part of this Bohemian Rhapsody cover is the opening. “You hear the same chords repeated, but inside the chords there is voicing of the melody. Thank you, classical music, for teaching me how to voice.”

Released in 1975, Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” has had quite a successful path. It has been in the Grammy Hall of Fame since 2004 and was announced as the 20th century’s “most streamed song,” with the music video sitting at 1.1 billion views on YouTube.

Watch the original Queen – Bohemian Rhapsody (Official Video Remastered)

There are many artists who have decided to cover the song, such as Jennifer Nettles and Pentatonix.