Singing the National Anthem

One of my voice students invited me to sing the National Anthem at a local retirement community.  It got me to thinking about our National Anthem, and how DIFFICULT it is to sing for the typical non-singer. 

When you create a tune that you want to sung easily by non-singers, you generally try to keep the vocal range within an octave (eight successive white keys on the piano).  What does our National Anthem do?  It's range is about an octave and a half, meaning whichever key you start in will either be uncomfortably high or low for most people.  To add insult to injury, the B section of the song ("The rockets red glare...) sits in a very uncomfortable spot for most people - just high enough that if you do not have strong technique, you will find yourself struggling after a phrase or two.

That being said, I love our National Anthem.  It's catchy and quite fun and challenging to sing as a professional.  Francis Scott Key, the composer of our National Anthem, wrote the song in 1814.  But the song did not become an official anthem until 1931!  There have been other competitors to be a National Anthem, with "America the Beautiful" and "My Country, Tis of Thee" as close runner-ups (it should be noted that these songs have much more accessible vocal ranges).

So when should you learn the National Anthem as an aspiring singer?  Well, the minute word gets out that you are a talented singer, you are going to sing the National Anthem!  So the best way to approach the song is to think of it as a long-range project.  After you make a few advancements in your technique, come back to the National Anthem and refine the song with your new technique.  After some time, you will enjoy the vocal challenges of our National Anthem!

DWS