Queen - The Show Must Go On - Guitar Solo Tab

Innuendo

1991 4:38

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About The Show Must Go On

Few rock ballads sit quite as heavily as this one, and getting the guitar part to feel right takes more care than it might first appear. At 72 BPM in C minor and E Standard tuning, the tempo is slow enough that every note has to be deliberate and in control, which actually makes lazy technique more exposed, not less. The signature arpeggiated chord work that underpins the verses demands clean left-hand fretting and a steady picking hand to keep the motion even without rushing. Queen built the arrangement around lush layered parts, so on guitar your job is to lock into the song's weight rather than fight it. The lead lines in the chorus and the solo carry real emotional phrasing: the bends and vibrato need to feel unhurried, which is harder than it sounds at this tempo. Use the Practice Toolbar to loop those solo phrases slowed down until the pitch control on every bend is solid, then bring it back up to speed.

• At 72 BPM in C minor, the slow tempo exposes any inconsistency in your vibrato and string bends, making control the main technical challenge.
• The arpeggiated chord progressions in the verses are a good exercise in clean fretting across full chord shapes without buzzing or muting adjacent strings.
• Playing in E Standard tuning means no retuning is needed, but matching the song's heavy, sustained tone rewards using the neck pickup with some added reverb.