TromboneChat

The University of Illinois Trombone... Studio... does the SSB for a baseball game.

No lyres, they must have memorized it.

On Facebook: National Anthem at Wrigley Field

(I have no connection to this performance, but I do lament the choice of vertical format video for something that was clearly a horizontal format subject)

Interesting, not one of the sanctioned keys for SSB.

Burgerbob wrote: Fri Jun 05, 2026 8:49 pm Interesting, not one of the sanctioned keys for SSB.

At least it's in 3/4.

EDIT: In case anyone is wondering about the "sanctioned keys" Aidan mentioned, I think maybe he's talking about this document:
https://www.tapsbugler.com/wp-content/u ... m-1942.pdf
which specifies that it should be in Bb or Ab.

The sanctioned keys are, I'm sure, designed to be in the best range for singing by most voices. Often, music like National Anthems and Hymns in their standard keys aren't in optimal keys for a trombone choir unless you either play it in a low, slightly muddy register, or arrange it to have the melody in a middle voice, and have some of the harmony above the tune, like in barbershop quartet scoring.

Jim Scott

As far as the military is concerned, you can change the key to accommodate the ensemble (eg. singer) performing it, and it's not a problem. The Navy version used to be the official arrangement, but they've eased up on that slightly in the last decade or so.

It's a nice arrangement, but I don't know about the changed rhythms. Dotted eighth sixteenths are correct.

Also, knowing the words is important. The most important line in the song is "that our flag was still there..." But most arrangements think that "land of the free" is the most important. It's not (the title is about the flag).

Also needed more room to breathe after "banner yet wave....", the second most important line in the song.

But good job! Nicely played!

In the good old days, no one could sing the SSB no matter what key it was in.

It's not a particularly easy song to sing, in general.

robcat2075 wrote: Sat Jun 06, 2026 1:12 pm In the good old days, no one could sing the SSB no matter what key it was in.

Most people kinda butcher it today, too. Range (19 semitones) and rhythms both challenge the casual singer.

We didn't have an official national anthem until 1931. "Hail, Columbia" (composed as "The President's March" in 1789 with lyrics and a new title added in 1798) was a sort of de-facto national anthem, though "Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean", "America", and "The Star Spangled Banner" would also come to be used in much the same way.

Awesome arrangement. Played before. One guy could hit double high Eb at end.

Yeah, nice job. Some intonation issues early on, and the missed opportunity to pause Harry mentioned, but nice performance and a nice arrangement. Congrats! Is the arrangement available?

Cameo by Doug Yeo, 4th from the right