Indiana Girl's National Anthem Rendition Draws Flap

Beowulf

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[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KVQUjxrgrM&feature=player_embedded]YouTube - Shai National Anthem BHS North 2011[/ame]

I just saw this and am wondering that the ruckus is all about. I cannot hear the video, so could a hearing person on this forum do that for me, and describe it? (It isn't captioned, either. :() No matter how bad her singing was, I have heard some awful versions, and besides, the National Anthem has three stanzas, and imagine what would happen if I stood at the Superbowl and sang all three.
 
I am a hearing person, and I listened to it. I know a little bit about music; I played saxophone in my Junior High School band, sang in my High School choir, and now I sing in my church choir. I don't know what all the fuss is about. She's not a "great" singer, but she's a kid! Besides, I've heard far worse out of people I expected more out of. She's young, and her voice needs to develop a bit more, and that will come with age and practice.

She did have a bit of trouble hitting the lower notes, but she substituted notes that were a bit higher, more comfortable for her, and they more or less harmonized with the melody. She also put in a lot of notes that aren't in the original melody, but that's just a modern affectation, popular among younger music singers/listeners/buyers. I'm not sure how much help that description is to someone who is Deaf, but the point is, she did a reasonably good job for someone who is probably still growing a bit and her vocal chords haven't yet reached their full potential.

If there is a lot of fuss about this, I can't figure out why. If I had stumbled across this video while surfing, I would have said to myself, "young people gotta throw in all those extra notes these days," thought to myself how I sound just like my mother :laugh2:, and moved on.

People need to be critical of important issues (politics, the environment, homelessness, etc.), not the singing style of a girl at a hometown high school sporting event. If people spent as much time discussing the tough stuff as they do picking on kids they'll likely never even meet, we'd have a more fair and just world.

I say she did fine. Let her be.
 
It sounded like she was singing a different musical arrangement than the original.

The audience applauded and cheered after, so I guess they weren't too bothered. :dunno:

Really, the National Anthem is meant to be sung by everyone present, not as a solo. If the soloist rearranges the melody too much, it makes it difficult for the rest of the people to sing along.

I wonder . . . are these National Anthem soloists auditioned and rehearsed before they perform?

I don't blame the girl. Some adult in charge didn't help her out before the game.
 
... the National Anthem has three stanzas, and imagine what would happen if I stood at the Superbowl and sang all three.
Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more!
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
 
What I think is the big deal is she was doing alot of vocalization & she mixed both the Alto & Soprano parts while singing. In parts it sounded like she was doing a harmony to her own music. While it was well done, it was 'different' and most people expect the traditional way of doing it.
 
Anyone remember when Mavin Gaye sang it to the music of Sexual Healing?

Before an NBA all star game if I remember correctly
 
Anyone remember when Mavin Gaye sang it to the music of Sexual Healing?

Before an NBA all star game if I remember correctly

Lol, I wonder how many people at home got too... distracted to watch the game after that. :naughty:
 
Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more!
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Orl right, FOUR stanzas. :lol:
 
I know both high schools, Martinsville and Bloomington North... used to live in Bloomington. BNHS is the school she attends.

I don't know the fuss about it but realize that Martinsville was one of last KKK towns (midway between Indy and Bloomington) and they do hate blacks for a long time but started thawing bit by bit in general since late 90s. I have no idea how it goes on there nowadays because I moved out almost a decade ago, however.

So I wondered as if it has to do with her being black... maybe who knows but don't get it exactly yet either.
 
Anyone remember when Mavin Gaye sang it to the music of Sexual Healing?

Before an NBA all star game if I remember correctly
Neither Hubby nor I recall that. What year was it?
 
I didn't think there was anything awful about it. She's young and probably nervous. People just like to throw stones when I don't see them getting up and doing any better. Good for her for trying :)
 
YouTube - Shai National Anthem BHS North 2011

I just saw this and am wondering that the ruckus is all about. I cannot hear the video, so could a hearing person on this forum do that for me, and describe it? (It isn't captioned, either. :() No matter how bad her singing was, I have heard some awful versions, and besides, the National Anthem has three stanzas, and imagine what would happen if I stood at the Superbowl and sang all three.

She was no worst than Roseanne Barr when she sang the song!! People were really upset with the way Roseanne Barr sang it!!
 
Neither Hubby nor I recall that. What year was it?

1983..... I think this is the right clip....Can't hear it any more

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRvVzaQ6i8A]YouTube - Marvin Gaye sings American National Anthem[/ame]
 
1983..... I think this is the right clip....Can't hear it any more
Hubby and I listened to your clip. The tune and lyrics were traditional. The beat and rhythm were changed. If you say that the beat was from another song I wouldn't know that. It didn't sound familiar.

What bothered me more was the crowd whooping and yelling during the song. That made it seems more like a pop concert than an honoring of the National Anthem.
 
When I. Was in choir in high school we were prepped to sing the National Anthem. We had to receive a perfect score 3 times in practice before we could try out to sine for games or events. If we sane one note different from what was written, held a note too long, or used any styleization we lost points. We were told it was disrespectful to change it even in the tiniest ways.

Personally, I enjoy many of the more spiced up versions as long as they are still presented in a respectable way and they're not changine the words or the tune as a whole. And if you're at a military function, etc, it should be sang as written.
 
If people have to waste time making a fuss over something like this, then they have too much time on their hands.
 
Hubby and I listened to your clip. The tune and lyrics were traditional. The beat and rhythm were changed. If you say that the beat was from another song I wouldn't know that. It didn't sound familiar.

What bothered me more was the crowd whooping and yelling during the song. That made it seems more like a pop concert than an honoring of the National Anthem.

If that is the time I am thinking about....the music is the same drum beat as Sexual Healing... I actually liked his version back then.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bAekG9VwQc[/ame]
 
Anyone remember when Mavin Gaye sang it to the music of Sexual Healing?

Before an NBA all star game if I remember correctly

Uh, he did not use the music of "Sexual Healing". He simply changed the original timing of the Star Spangled Banner. The melody (tune) was not altered, nor were the lyrics. Big difference.

There are many songs that use the same time signature as "Sexual Healing." That doesn't mean that they are all sung to the music of "Sexual Healing."

This was not a change in the original music, but simply a style adaptation. All of Marvin Gaye's songs were performed in a similar manner.
 
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