Queen Bohemian Rhapsody Kalimba Sheet Music

Are you a fan of Queen, led by the incredible Freddie Mercury, and want to learn how to play Bohemian Rhapsody on your 17-tine kalimba? You’ve come to the right place! With the sheet music and tablature we share a little further down, you’ll have everything you need to successfully play this beautiful melody on your thumb piano.

Now it’s time to go over the preparatory steps before diving into the sheet music.

The essential tuning for playing Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody on the kalimba

To play Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody, you’ll need to adjust the tuning of your kalimba, since it’s very specific to this song. If your instrument is tuned in standard C major, only the centre tine will stay the same. Never tried retuning your kalimba before? No problem—tuning is a fairly simple process that anyone can do, and it’s explained in detail in this blog post. Don’t even think about continuing if you don’t know how to tune a thumb piano, or you won’t get a satisfying result. The new tuning is written on the sheet music, but here it is if you want to set it up right away:

Once you’ve set this tuning, all you have to do is follow what’s shown on the sheet music.

If you don’t understand what the letters and numbers on the sheet music mean, don’t worry—it’s easy to learn. Check out this guide on how to read kalimba sheet music. You’ll then be able to confidently read all the musical documents for this instrument.

See the final result of this Queen sheet music for thumb piano

It can be frustrating to find sheet music without knowing what it’s supposed to sound like. That’s not an issue on Instruments du Monde. We publish a video for each of our sheet music pages so you can hear the end result and make sure it’s the melody you’re looking for. Here it is for Bohemian Rhapsody:

And to fully dive into the vibe of this legendary band, we also invite you to listen to the original version of the song.

Sheet music with numbers for Bohemian Rhapsody on mbira

You’ll notice that this simplified sheet music with numbers includes notes with sharps. If you skipped the tuning step mentioned above, you won’t be able to play this melody.

Queen sheet music for sanza with letters

This is the same arrangement as above, but written with letters—a different notation that produces the exact same musical result.

Bohemian Rhapsody in tablature for sanza

Tablature is a musical notation system made specifically for the kalimba. It offers the precision of a traditional score while being much easier to understand. You can find the tablature for Bohemian Rhapsody below:

Download Queen sheet music for kalimba in PDF format

On our website, we make it easy by letting you download this PDF file, which contains all the Queen kalimba sheet music you’ve just seen. This way, you can print everything out or play this fabulous melody even when you don’t have an internet connection.

What is the meaning of the song Bohemian Rhapsody?

The meaning of the song Bohemian Rhapsody is famously unclear. Many fans have come up with countless theories to try to pin down what it’s really about. Some believe the song recounts the final moments of a man sentenced to death, while others think it’s about someone who claims to have made a pact with the devil. Another theory suggests the lyrics were crafted mainly for their sound and to “fit” music that had already been composed. Freddie Mercury, for his part, stayed very vague about the meaning, saying: “I think people should just listen to it, think about it, and then make up their own minds about what it tells them.”

More recently, lyricist Tim Rice, who worked closely with Freddie Mercury on albums, suggested that the lyrics may contain a hidden message in which the singer tries to reveal his homosexuality to the public—a metaphorical coming out. A final, less credible theory claims the lyrics are a confession about infecting a sexual partner while knowing he was HIV-positive. However, since the song was written around 1975 and AIDS wasn’t identified by medical authorities until 1981, that explanation seems highly unlikely.

When did Queen split up?

In the mid-1980s, Queen was at the height of its success. On 9 August 1986, the band played the biggest concert of its career and then decided to take a break for nearly two years. The four members of the band, Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor, and John Deacon, all embarked on solo projects or formed other bands. Around 1990, rumours about Freddie Mercury’s health began to circulate, even though an official denial was issued. Nevertheless, on 23 November 1991, Freddie Mercury, knowing he was dying, wrote a letter stating that he was HIV-positive. He died the next day, 24 November 1991, bringing Queen’s career to an end. In 1992, the three surviving members still organised a tribute concert and officially split up sometime later.

That said, the legend of this iconic band has lived on. Since 2005, a new line-up called Queen+ has toured the world. Singer Paul Rodgers stepped in for Freddie Mercury, while Brian May and Roger Taylor, two of the original members, remained. Starting in 2012, Adam Lambert replaced Paul Rodgers, and Queen+ continues to perform worldwide today.

Accompany Freddie Mercury with a high-quality kalimba

Keeping Queen’s legacy alive by playing their greatest hits is a wonderful way to pay tribute to one of the greatest bands of all time. With the sheet music and kalimba tablature you’ve just discovered, you’ll be able to play Bohemian Rhapsody on your instrument with African roots. All that’s left is a bit of practice to get a truly satisfying result.

However, to do justice to a monument like this, you absolutely need a high-quality instrument. It would be a shame to play this melody without clear, pure notes. The Instruments du Monde store offers a kalimba worthy of Bohemian Rhapsody: a 17-tine model made from solid exotic hardwood, with the kind of fine craftsmanship that guarantees wonderful moments with Queen’s songs.

Purchase this exotic wood kalimba by clicking on the image below:

Enjoy exceptional tone with this exotic wood kalimba

4.6/5 — 500+ Reviews

View the exotic wood kalimba

In a completely different style, but still in the world of keyboard classics, we suggest you play Beethoven’s “Für Elise” on your kalimba. This masterpiece of classical music is absolutely worth your time, as is our wide range of sheet music for 17-tine kalimbas of all levels.