Exclusive Video Lesson: "Bohemian Rhapsody" Tutorial by Daryl Kellie

This video is bonus content related to the April 2014 issue of Guitar World. For the full range of interviews, features, tabs and more, pick up the new issue on newsstands now or at our online store.

In contrast to many of his contemporaries in the progressive fingerstyle world, Daryl Kellie’s musical proclivities and background lean more toward jazz and classical forms rather than the ethereal, percussive-heavy approach of Hedges and Reed.

Which, in a sense, made Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” an ideal showcase for the 30-year-old’s abilities as a solo guitar arranger and performer. Kellie’s interpretation of the song is remarkably evocative of the original, with the guitarist employing complex chords, tapping, hammer-ons and plenty of harmonics (both natural and artificial), to great effect.

Explains Kellie, “I’ve always come at this from a jazz-fingerstyle guitar angle, and the classical guitar thing is something I’ve always kept up as well. With that in mind, something like ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ is in a way similar to the kind of very dense arrangements you often find in classical guitar music. So arranging the song came pretty naturally to me.”

For the rest of this story, and a COMPLETE TRANSCRIPTION of Kellie's version of "Bohemian Rhapsody," pick up the April 2014 issue of Guitar World, which is available now.

For more about Kellie, visit darylkellie.com.

Below, check out Guitar World's exclusive “Bohemian Rhapsody” tutorial video featuring Kellie. Below that, you'll find Kellie's performance of the complete song. For a complete transcription of the song, check out the April 2014 issue of Guitar World.