Star-Spangled Myth #8: Igor Stravinsky's Mug Shot & "Illegal" Anthem

MYTH #8: A mug shot offers proof of composer Igor Stravinsky’s arrest by the Boston Police for desecrating a national symbol after conducting a performance of his own arrangement of “The Star-Spangled Banner” with the Boston Symphony. CORRECTION: The supposed mug shot is actually part of Stravinsky’s 1940 visa application for residence in the United…

The Star-Spangled Banner across the Arts

 2nd grade lesson by Jennifer Butler, Northwoods Fine Arts Academy Sand Springs, Oklahoma 2nd grade students will be learning about the Battle at Fort McHenry, Francis Scott Key, and the composition of The Star-Spangled Banner through music, art, and dance.  Students will study paintings about the Battle at Fort McHenry in art class, learn about Francis…

Singing the SSB Video Lesson 5

Click Here for Video Lesson 5 http://youtu.be/rgr0VFtf6Ds Materials Needed Internet access to YouTube Computer with projector (for students to view YouTube videos) Speakers (for students to hear the YouTube videos) Activities – Watch the video lesson linked above.  During the video, students will participate in speaking and singing activities for a given excerpt of the…

Singing the SSB Video Lesson 4

Click Here for Video Lesson 4 http://youtu.be/Qm235RHdGi0 Materials Needed Internet access to YouTube Computer with projector (for students to view YouTube videos) Speakers (for students to hear the YouTube videos) Activities – Watch the video lesson linked above.  During the video, students will participate in speaking and singing activities for a given excerpt of the…

Singing the SSB Video Lesson 3

Click Here for Video Lesson 3 http://youtu.be/cGDczAsS5tY Materials Needed Internet access to YouTube Computer with projector (for students to view YouTube videos) Speakers (for students to hear the YouTube videos) Activities – Watch the video lesson linked above.  During the video, students will participate in speaking and singing activities for a given excerpt of the…

Singing "The Star-Spangled Banner" in Non-Music Classrooms

OVERVIEW by Mary L.Vincent – Monroe Public Schools This lesson series is a compilation of 5 short videos lessons (each approximately 6 minutes long) that help students rehearse singing “The Star-Spangled Banner.”  The videos integrate relevant locations and historical perspectives related to the national anthem. This lesson series also aims to make singing the Star-Spangled Banner…

The Anthem at War

The Anthem at War Language Arts, Music, Theater, and Art (Optional) 5th Grade Paul Herrera, American Union Elementary This lesson is for the classroom teacher who wants to incorporate music into their curriculum. This four lesson unit (that can be expanded or shortened) features a game of Charades to learn the lyrics to “The Star-Spangled Banner,” an acting…

Spangled Mythconception #7: An Official Version of "The Star-Spangled Banner" Exists

MYTH #7: There is a sanctioned traditional or otherwise official version of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”CORRECTION: The 1931 act making Key’s song America’s anthem does not identify an official arrangement, in part because the song as sung in the 20th-c. had already departed from what Francis Scott Key had known. During World War I, attempts were…

Spangled Mythconception #6: Congress Made Key's Banner the U.S. National Anthem

MYTH #6: A 1931 act of Congress made “The Star-Spangled Banner” the official anthem of the United States CORRECTION: This is absolutely correct in terms of the anthem’s legal status, but the bill approved by the House and Senate and signed by President Herbert Hoover simply recognized what had been true in American cultural practice…

Spangled Mythconception #4: Key's Banner is Based on a Bawdy Old English Drinking Song

MYTH #4: Key’s Banner is based on the melody of a bawdy old English drinking song CORRECTION: “The Anacreontic Song” was the constitutional anthem of an elite, London-based, amateur music society… but it gets complicated. Francis Scott Key would have most likely encountered the melody of “The Anacreontic Song” initially through its most popular American…