TromboneChat

Getting back on track to the subject of an "approved" National Anthem ----. Back somewhere about 1962, as a member of The U.S Army Band in Washington, D.C., I participated in a marathon of versions of the Anthem sponsored by a Congressman from Virginia, Joel Broyhill. The idea was to propose a version of the Anthem which would then be used by all Armed Forces Bands uniformly. The versions varied from rustic Civil War harmonization to one which closely resembled Wagner's Tannhauser Overture with clarinets playing cascading arpeggios by the boatload ! Finally, the proposed new version was played, complete with TUSAB's Herald Trumpets playing counter melody on the second phrase. The audience reaction was so great that the performance was repeated ! As things started to settle down and Congressman Broyhill was about to take credit for making this event happen, a very elderly woman by the name of Otille Sutrow stood up in the front row and began to speak. Members of the press who were present surrounded her to listen to her tale of familial knowledge of Francis Scott Key, his inability to sing the highest note in the proposed key and other homilies. Well --- THAT did it ! The Congressman never got the gathering back on track and it was Ms. Sutrow's photo which showed up in The Washington Post newspaper the next day ! TUSAB continued to use that version through the remainder of my enlistment, and the last time I heard the band perform they were still using it. I think the other service bands stationed in Washington have their own versions, but I cannot be sure.

spencercarran wrote: ↑Fri Jan 22, 2021 1:34 pm Factually accurate does not necessarily mean non-political (especially in current US context), and I don't see a clear distinction between comments like the above and user posts that moderators have recently deemed off limits

D'accord!

The inauguration is over. There weren't any problems. The music was good. Comments on the music seem appropriate.

The music was good. Proves the versatility of our Military musicians, being able to accompany different artists. And still play National Emblem.

2bobone wrote: ↑Fri Jan 22, 2021 3:09 pm ...to one which closely resembled Wagner's Tannhauser Overture with clarinets playing cascading arpeggios by the boatload !

Sousa did that! A bit tongue-in-cheek, of course. He didn't intend it as a standard version.

BGuttman wrote: ↑Wed Jan 20, 2021 10:47 am

Doug Elliott wrote: ↑Wed Jan 20, 2021 10:20 am Lady Gaga did a great job on the SSB

Was kind of an odd arrangement, although she sang it well.

Some definitely appreciated the arrangement. I saw on Facebook that Dave Barduhn (yes, that Dave Barduhn) inquired to discover the arranger.

--Andy in OKC

I like it. In general, I didn't know much about her musicality in her "pop" days until I caught wind of her album with Tony Bennett, which is wonderful. Since then - yeah, she's great. I'd love to get a chance to do a gig with her someday, and not just because it would probably pay well. She's one of those popular artists who seems to have developed a good reputation for working with other musicians and has the musical chops to match.

Was the arrangement by Michael Bearden? Doing some internetting, it's not clear to me who is actually responsible for it - for all I know, it may actually be arranged by the Lady herself with orchestration help from Bearden, or some other combination of efforts.

She sang well - I have a bit of a pet peeve about changing the time signature to 4/4 rather than 3/4 (although I think it changed into 3 for a bit in the middle). It sounded like whoever did the chart wanted to feature the band as well as the singer, and the orchestration sounded colourful. I always like it when an arrangement gives a little attention to the group that is accompanying the singer without overshadowing them.

Considering the Covid restrictions, I thought the organizers found a way to present some decent music and make the day a celebration. Of course, the young poet rocked it!

Jim Scott

OK, I just talked to a friend in the band who was playing the Inaugural.

The arrangement was by Gaga's own arranger Michael Bearden.
https://twitter.com/MichaelBearden?ref_ ... r%5Eauthor

They were playing to a click track, it was not a recording.

Doug Elliott wrote: ↑Sat Jan 23, 2021 9:55 am OK, I just talked to a friend in the band who was playing the Inaugural.

The arrangement was by Gaga's own arranger Michael Bearden.
https://twitter.com/MichaelBearden?ref_ ... r%5Eauthor

They were playing to a click track, it was not a recording.

Cool, thanks for the confirmation.

Thanks, Doug!

CalgaryTbone wrote: ↑Sat Jan 23, 2021 9:39 am "Of course, the young poet rocked it!"

Jim Scott

Amanda Gorman is an amazing young woman, incredible poet and VERY bright...looking forward to see and hear what her future holds!

I recall one of the network voices saying, "Lady Gaga... there's an introduction I don't think the Founders ever anticipated..."


If there was a click track, that indicates some portion of the accompaniment was recorded. No need for a click track if there isn't something you're trying to stay in-click with, right?

robcat2075 wrote: ↑Sun Jan 24, 2021 10:45 am If there was a click track, that indicates some portion of the accompaniment was recorded. No need for a click track if there isn't something you're trying to stay in-click with, right?

No, not necessarily.

Standardises the fermatas, rubato, etc. Not a bad idea when the soloist and conductor are a long way apart with no eyeline. It's very possible LG had a CCTV monitor of the conductor somewhere out of shot, but even then you don't want her to have to stare at that all the time.

I have played lots of non-recorded gigs with a click track. It really helps keep things together when the singer is not very near the band, the band is spread out, cold weather, potential for wind, etc. Plus, the countoff is usually recorded into it, and meter changes and slight rubato are often subdivided in the click, all predetermined and not reliant on following anybody.

For an important one-time LIVE television performance, that is all extremely important to consider.

This used to be the only place on the net where i could go and leave politics behind, and just think about music.

robcat2075 wrote: ↑Sun Jan 24, 2021 10:45 am I recall one of the network voices saying, "Lady Gaga... there's an introduction I don't think the Founders ever anticipated..."


If there was a click track, that indicates some portion of the accompaniment was recorded. No need for a click track if there isn't something you're trying to stay in-click with, right?

I didn't watch the inauguration ceremony yet, so these might not all apply, but there are many reasons to use a click track that still woukd use 100% live music:

1. Keeping in time/sync over a huge distance between the ensemble and the singer, or different ensembles. The click travels at the speed of light and sound doesn't. If it is being recorded live, the sound from the microphones can also be sent at the speed of light and played out of speakers vast distances apart for a huge crowd. Or conversely, "consolidated" at one point (huge speakers on front of the crowd) and amplified way louder than the ensemble. This way the crowd doesn't perceive any phasing issue with the ensemble because they can only hear the speakers.

2. The click makes sure the performance stays perfectly in sync with the show. The DAW, if used, pumping out the click track can also be controlling lights, fireworks, dancing puppets, and whatever else, with MIDI. Or if an orchestra is playing the live sound track to a viewing of Harry Potter, they could use the click to stay perfectly on time with the film.

3. Psych! The performance is not actually "live" because your singer(s) are more famous than their ability to sing should justify. You know M'Lord KaKa can't actually take the word "free" up the octave at the end, but it's too complicated to turn on the auto tune and other plugins perfectly in time with him to get it to sound real. Similarly to the fireworks, above, these plugins are turned on with automation controls that are slaved to the click.

Like that

One thing that's often annoyed me is the treatment of "home.........of THE.........brave." The pitches and rhythm would put emphasis on the least important word in the whole phrase, and some singers make it worse.

Some years back I was at a large military conference with a number of generals. It might have been the rollout of the newly created installation Management Command, not sure. It started with a recording of a version of the SSB I'd never heard and have never been able to track down. It started with unison trumpet and horn sections screaming the melody an octave up. It was very effective but I've never heard it since.

And how about J-Lo's accompaniment? That had strings in it and I never spied any strings on the bandstand.

I actually never saw it but I heard it was a nightmare

timothy42b wrote: ↑Sun Jan 24, 2021 4:21 pm One thing that's often annoyed me is the treatment of "home.........of THE.........brave." ...

Gaga's treatment of exactly that seemed like a brilliancy to me.

robcat2075 wrote: ↑Sun Jan 24, 2021 5:11 pm And how about J-Lo's accompaniment? That had strings in it and I never spied any strings on the bandstand.

They were all lip-synched.

Heck, they made Yo-Yo Ma pantomime his performance a few years ago...
https://www.npr.org/2009/01/23/99796514 ... p-synching

It isn't because they couldn't perform it live, it is because they are not allowing anything to happen in that space and place. Control of all the variables.

Cheers,
Andy

It's weird that one of the biggest dramas around these sort of events is the National Anthem

• Who will sing it?

• What will they do to it?

• Will their career survive it?

Does any other country have this problem?

It's hard to find details of inaugurations before the television era.

Is Marian Anderson in 1961 the first VIP SSB singer?
Notice all the rolled Rs

robcat2075 wrote: ↑Mon Jan 25, 2021 10:57 am It's hard to find details of inaugurations before the television era.

Note how friendly, positive, and encouraging VP Nixon and President Eisenhower were as they handed the reins of office to President Kennedy [17:30].

It was a different era!

Posaunus wrote: ↑Mon Jan 25, 2021 11:57 am Note how friendly, positive, and encouraging VP Nixon and President Eisenhower were as they handed the reins of office to President Kennedy [17:30].

It was a different era!

And no masks!

I think Eisenhower was being properly polite but Kennedy and Nixon had had friendly relations for a decade or so... inasmuch as aspiring politicians can have friends among other politicians

Here is an interview with Yo Yo Ma discussing the challenges of the Obama inauguration performance.

https://www.npr.org/templates/story/sto ... d=99816993

For Jimmy Carter's inauguration in 1977, SSB was sung by Cantor Issac Goodfriend.

He only rolled one R

jump to 34:40...
https://www.c-span.org/video/?37670-1/p ... auguration

Interesting analysis on Lady Gaga's SSB here: Lady Gaga's MIXED METER Star Spangled Banner?! Really neat arrangement ...

marccromme wrote: ↑Tue Jan 26, 2021 2:45 pm Interesting analysis on Lady Gaga's SSB here: Lady Gaga's MIXED METER Star Spangled Banner?! Really neat arrangement ...

This is the Adam Meely video mentioned above. Yes, an interesting analysis.

For Clinton in 1993, Marilyn Horne sang SSB. She also does not roll her Rs.

56:37



in 1997 it is Santiqa(?) Jackson and a church choir

Very down tempo...

1:11:05

2001: A very much by-the-book performance of SSB by Staff Sergeant Alec Maly of the US Army Band

at 55:32
https://www.c-span.org/video/?162027-1/ ... l-ceremony


2005: Technical Sergeant Bradley Bennett. Doesn't quite get out the first O

at 1:34:20

https://www.c-span.org/video/?185043-1/ ... l-ceremony

For Obama 2009 it was the US Navy Sea Chanters

at 1:07:50
https://www.c-span.org/video/?283479-1/ ... l-ceremony


For Obama 2013 it's... Beyonce! I think this is the first highly-produced SSB. But lip-synched.

at 1:17:39



And Trump 2017... Jackie Evancho

You are watching a movie.
Enjoy the Show.