Patriotic Resources for Guitar!

It’s July already and it’s hot! Other than thinking about heat and swimming pools, this is also the time that we celebrate Independence Day! During the beginning of July, until I run out of songs, I will be posting a new patriotic song video and write up to this blog so keep it handy.

Each song will have a video, tablature, and a write up to give you guidance on the best ways to play the song.

If I don’t post your favorite patriotic song for some reason, then leave a comment and I’ll get right on it!

Signing up will get you a few things.

First, it will get you updates on all the new lessons that come out daily. Second, it will get you on the waiting list for my Fall Semester of lessons. Third, it will get you direct access to me so that I can answer any and all of your questions.

That’s enough of the update…Here are the songs:

Anchors Aweigh- The Navy Song

First played during the Army vs. Navy football game on December 1, 1906, Anchors Aweigh was written by Charles A. Zimmerman and the words by Alfred Hart Miles. It was adopted by the Navy later as their official song and the lyrics have been changed a few times over the years.

The song is mainly played in first position, meaning your first finger is playing notes in the first fret, your second in the second, third in the third, and fourth in the fourth. It can be easy for beginners if you slow it down and work on trying to make your fingers play the correct frets that I mentioned above. The only parts that leave the first position are the parts right before the first and second ending. Here move to second postion, meaning your first finger is at the second fret.

The Cassons Go Rolling Along- The Army Song

In 1948 the Army had not adopted an official song and decided to run a contest to find one of it’s own. In 1952 the Secretary of the Army asked for submissions. Eight Hundred submissions later, they selected a winner, “The Army’s Always There” by Sam Stept and the Army band performed it for President Eisenhower’s inaugural parade on January 20, 1953.

After the performance, many commented that the song sounded too much like, “I’ve Got a Lovely bunch of Coconuts,” so the army took the melody from a U.S. Field Artillery March by John Philip Sousa. Words were added by Harold W. Arberg and the song was dedicated on November 11, 1956.

Playing the Song

This song is easiest to play in second position and you don’t have to move out of that position if you get used to using your pinky for some of the parts using the 5th fret.

The Marine Hymn

The Star Spangled Banner- US National Anthem

History

If you are an American, you know the story of The Star Spangled Banner for the most part: there’s a guy on a boat, watching the fighting of some Fort and he wrote the song that we use as our National Anthem.

The guy’s name was Francis Scott Key and the words that we know came from a poem written by Key on September 14, 1814. The poem was called the Defence of Fort M’Henry and was inspired by the events he witnessed of the bombardment of Ft. McHenry by the British during the War of 1812. If you aren’t familiar with the War of 1812, that was the time that the British decided they would try to reclaim the country again. Washington D.C. was burned and at points they looked like they may succeed. We eventually held them off, due in large part to Naval battles similar to this one.

Ironically, the music that we know was taken from a British song written by John Stafford Smith and called “To Anacreon in Heaven”. So not only did we win the war, but we stole the melody to our National Anthem from them.

The Star Spangled Banner started to be recognized for official use by the Navy in 1889 and was made the National Anthem in 1916 by Woodrow Wilson.

Playing the Song

Luckily this song is alot easier to play than it is to sing. From the lowest note to the highest note, is 19 half-steps or semitones. Hard for vocalists, but for guitarists can easily be played in one position.

In this version I play the song in first position and use several open strings so that it is really accessible for guitarists. If you are interested in learning the Jimi Hendrix version, start by learning this one and check out my video later on in the series that will show how to change the key and add some of your own unique stylings to the song.

The only part beginners may find difficult is the double stops used in the middle of the song. Stick to playing these on the G and B strings and watch my fingerings for help on how to play this section efficiently.

Check out this video to learn more about Double Stops: https://youtu.be/ED3BKyyk5-Q