O Say Did You Know?

-
David Hildebrand pointed out on the Society for American Music listserv that "The Star-Spangled Banner" became the official US national anthem 80 years ago today. The BBC interviewed him for World Update (at about 47:40). I haven't seen much about it in the American news yet; I'm sure the Canadians will have something to say about it.

You probably know that the "The Star-Spangled Banner" got its melody from a drinking song. But do you know which one? And did you know that Francis Scott Key's lyrics first appeared in September 1814 as a broadside in Baltimore?

The Smithsonian Museum of American History has a great section on its website where you can find out a bunch of stuff about our national anthem. Check it out and impress your friends.

And whatever you do, make sure you know the lyrics.

Popular posts from this blog

What Are the New Models of Professional Musicianship?

-
On his own blog, my colleague Nate Zeisler describes two models for musical careers . In the first model, musicians are mechanics, creating within "a very narrow, accepted window of performance practice which has been dictated by your teacher, conductor and the music written on a page." In the second model, musicians act more like designers, and come up with "new ways of thinking about the art form" by drawing on new genres of music and artistic disciplines. For Nate, the path toward a successful career is to fuse the two: In the field of classical music, there is very little room for people who can’t infuse qualities from both sides of the aisle into their career. Great designers in music will have little to say and won’t have credibility in the field if they aren’t great mechanics. Great mechanics, for the most part, won’t have a sustainable career if they’re not thinking as designers. I agree that the most successful musicians will be able to be both mechanic
Read more

Taking a Break

-
I may return to posting, but, for now, I'll be packing it in. It's been harder than I thought to keep blogging up since moving to Los Angeles and taking on a new job at the Colburn School. If you want to get in touch, or just want to keep up with me, follow me on Twitter @berrymark, or find me on Facebook. Thanks for stopping by.
Read more