Guest post from my lovely wife, Maggie, today. She’s also trained as a singer, so has some great insights on singing the National Anthem (although, her tips can be applied to any performance too). Check out what she has to say.
The Star-Spangled Banner, our much maligned National Anthem, has gotten a bad rap for being “the hardest piece of music to sing.” This myth has been propagated by any number of bad performances by celebrities (including some world class musicians) and the advent of the internet. Never before has it been so easy to find and share bad performances of the Anthem.
Can I tell you a secret? It’s actually really easy to sing.
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been watching and listening as James helps prepare our friend (his Perfect Strangers) band mate Stefaniefor her performance at the January 27thLA Kings game. Here are some of the notes he’s given her, along with some of my observations from years of performing (and watching performances of) the Anthem.
Find your first note.
Most performances of the Anthem begin their flame out on the first note because…
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James McGarvey 