Anthem
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- čas přidán 8. 10. 2017
- The Star-Spangled Banner is an awkward, unsubtle piece of music, but in the hands of great musicians it can be quite effective. Why is the American national anthem the way it is? How did it come to be both a spectacle of the mediocre and the sublime?
History of the Star-Spangled Banner, and it’s origin in the Anacreontic Song
musicologynow.ams-net.org/2014...
Boston Globe article that more directly tells the story of Stravinsky’s Star Spangled Banner
www.google.com/amp/s/www.bost...
MA Law (still on the books) banning people from embellishing the national anthem
malegislature.gov/Laws/Genera...
Article on the controversy around Peter Breiner’s arrangement
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/...
Jimi Hendrix’s Star Spangled Banner (condemnation of America)
• Video
Whitney Houston’s Star Spangled Banner (celebration of America)
• Whitney Houston - Star...
Pete Seeger’s Star Spangled Banner (celebration of America, with tweaks)
• Pete Seeger - "The Sta...
Peter Breiner’s Star Spangled Banner (celebration of America, with tweaks)
• The Star Spangled Bann...
Stravinsky’s Star Spangled Banner (celebration of America, with tweaks)
• stravinsky's star span...
Renee Flemming’s Star Spangled Banner (high note on the second apex)
• Renée Fleming - Super ...
\m/
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Adam - Hudba
Pro tip: make sure the singer and the masses are IN THE SAME KEY
Ha!
Is this a meme now?
Lorenzo Fornaciari *"The Striking Chord changes may be disturbing to the layman's ear"*
Dang I was gonna say that 😂😂😂
This and the striking chord changes may be disturbing are the best new memes
Adam: "I won't get political"
*5 extreme jazz fusion polyrhythmic reharmonizations later...
@@eljestLiv which one? (They went to high school together btw)
@@stevencleere4912 Opulence @ 15:52
@@eljestLiv sweeeeeeeet
Making jokes about Adorno and Trotskij tells of an interest...but I get that he wants to keep the main channel kinda neutral....I mean, ya like jazz?
We have the biggest ambitus, the best ambitus, the most luxurious ambitus, believe me.
educationalvideos tremen-dus ambitus
I literally wept, not with joy.
Ambitchous
@@JeremyAndersonBoise don't be a pussy.
And i have a big cubitus
"Set the word 'free' to a note so high no one could reach it."
Whitney Houston busts that note up a fourth, achieving a two octave range in the song.
Genius editing.
A note so high no one can reach it... but when someone reaches it, they elevate the whole country with them.
@@KyrieFortune well, actually... no, not really
I wonder if someone were to sing free down a minor third... what would the "laymen" think about that?
I think he means no one but a trained singer.
And Whitney Houston lipped synced the performance.
How dare you disrespect my Anthem with your commie theoretical musical analysis. You're clearly not listening in the right frequency. Try the Anthem in 432 Hz and it will open up the Patriotism receptors in your pineal gland.
Jeff Irwin *"The Striking Chord Changes may be disturbing to the layman's ear"*
Checkmate Adam!
So this 432 Hz thing is gonna be an Adam Neely meme now?
This, sir, made my day
Jeff Irwin actually... The anthem in 432 might be a good idea... Easier to reach the notes(arround 415 is a halfstep down so... 8 hz can make a difference)
Problem solved when sung at *432Hz* .
Not solved, but maybe diminished.
Lol
Im pretty sure a difference of relative tuning by a mere 8 hz would actually hurt both of the parties outlined as far as vocal range goes
Problem made obsolete at a=420
Gwyneth Lowery you're getting warmer
"the national anthem dont even slap" - vince staples
Inrxz it doesn’t SLAPP? oh sorry wrong channel
@@nahte- LMAOOO
Wdym it's a great song, just like everything else on Kid A
That cutaway to the demonic Neely voice cracked me up haha
The British national anthem is written and arranged for several hundred drunk people at a football game
The Dog's Kneecaps So is every anthem, I guess. ;-)
Britain doesn't have a national anthem, in fact its not even a country...
The Dog's Kneecaps Yes, in 1745 the playhouses of London were popular with drunken association rules football (soccer) fans singing God Save The King, using a time machine to come 100+ years from the future. Technically, Britain has no national anthem by decree or law, only by popular tradition. Stop pretending like we don't have a history, Bruv.
Apparently it never used to have the words “NA-NA-NA-NA” in the middle of God Save The Queen, but that might just be an urban legend.
Thomas McGowan he said the British anthem. The UK people are British.
as a layperson, the striking chord change of a V-I is disturbing to my ear
Llamamall. Screw resolution, we want revolution!
How about IIIb-VIb-IIb-V-I?
Well played.
@@messyties this comment is gold
messyties Better end that tune with a deceptive cadence then
So I clicked this video thinking about Anthem , but it was more about Apex Legends.
Underrated comment
Oh wow, I got chills hearing Whitney Houston at the end there
See in the English National anthem it only has a range of a 6th in case it needs to be sung 12 pints deep at the pub.
Mine has a one octave jump at one point...
The English national anthem has a range of 0 octaves, because it doesn't exist. The UK as a whole does, as do Wales and Scotland (well, sort of) but not Northern Ireland or England.
Czech and Finnish: Both 1 octave (13 semitones), Russian: 11th (18 semitones; same as the Norwegian one.) You're welcome. :-)
If it's true to their spoken style, the Finnish National Anthem ought to have an ambitus of one. :p
However if it's true to the sort of music their musicians play, then it ought to fucking rock.
KindredBrujah The finnish anthem should be Freestyler
to be fair though i think "weird musical voodoo" is a characterization that stravinsky would happily accept
hahahaha you're probably right
Yeah ! Frank Zappa too ..
@@pcbass2 Jimi Hendrix intensifies
I keep coming back to this video wondering if I should comment and I finally thought...Why the F*** not. So as a Freshman in High School whose voice was on the cusp on changing but not quite there I was invited to audition for our HS Madrigal choir (10th - 16th century a capella vocal music for those that don't know what madrigals are). We were supposed to bring a piece of music and like all good vocalists, I sat on my ass and didn't prepare anything. When asked what I was singing, I said..."The Star Spangled Banner". I was trying out as a Tenor and the only Senior that year was the only other Tenor, he and the music teacher looked at each other and the horror in their eyes was... well comical now, but back then I experienced the only "stage fright" I ever had. When asked if I had music, I said no to which the teacher pulled out a copy - in E for Soprano, I said regaining my swagger (in for a penny in for a pound), "Okay sure, why not?" - I then launched into a song that to this day I wish I could sing again and again. I have no idea what it was that possessed me to sing that song, in that key, for what would most likely be the most important audition in my young career, but I nailed it, to include the 2nd octave on the second Apex... I have never tried to do it in that key or quite so braggadocios since then, but there is always that one shining moment where I can look back and see the absolute stunned response of my teacher and my fellow Tenor... The "Holy S*** did I just hear that" moment that set me on a path of take no prisoners for the rest of my musical life.
This is an absolutely sensational educational video. In 12 minutes it brings together commentary on music, politics, race, and history and manages not only to inform on multiple subjects but also amuse at many points and move the soul to boot.
This is probably the best educational short clip I've ever watched. You're a superb educator with a great mind and a great heart.
People: Land of the FREE!!
Composer: *Changes something in his own freedom*
People: How DARE he change something!?
MelsBlogMusic "it hurts itself in confusion."
NatFlaps taking this to the next logical step what Pokemon is the best description of the fractured American dream?
Bidoof.
America in a nutshell
Brad Oliver I thought that was Snorlax
I took the Neely in protest of this video
kneely
Nice
LOL!!!
Checking back a day later, can't believe people like this stupid joke. I'm disappointed in you
@@ottolaakso1944 I come back once in a while just to read your comment, then proceed to giggle and hate myself at the same time for laughing at something so stupid. Keep up the puns
When that Stravinsky's version bit played, I could really feel the unity that he was trying to convey. USA should embrace that version as a sign of union, and respect for their Russian pals.
Sadly, this isn't gonna happen. The West needs Russia as a boogeyman to shake their fists towards and the Russian government only cares about how much money they can suck out of the people before the economy finally collapses.
I laughed for 2 minutes straight after 7:20 😂 Thanks Adam.
Nice to see you here again!
BURNER TWERKELENS
Holy crap I'm dead!
Werner Erkelens can you explain the joke plz?
Prime Commander Cypher Raige When you’re in music school and more succinctly, Jazz school, you are taught to change things because you can. That’s obviously an over generalization. But the sentiment is there. “Im a jazz musician therefore I have complete mastery over harmony and theory and I will lead all of the other mindless sheep away from traditional changes. They just don’t know that they are wrong yet. I will conquer all. Peasants.”
Hyperbole at its finest.
Obviously the anthem should be changed to America Fuck Yeah.
Fuck yeah !
No, it should be changed to La Fway.
Don't you mean 'Murica Fuck Yeah
I’d petition this tbh. Represents us more 😂
FIGHTING CRIME TO SAVE THE MOTHERFUCKING DAY, YEAH!
The ambitus is considerably more favourable to the proletariat, it must be said.
"Like the United States the Star Spangled Banner is flawed, filled with grand aspirations but unsubtle and vulgar in the wrong hands". Well said Adam
"Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: 'In God is our trust.'"
Not sure this needs wrong hands to sound vulgar to many ears.
"It is unattainable like the American Dream", great line, man
As he sits there with his Berkeley degree on the wall and the abundance of gigs he plays at in privately owned venues. Maybe he should move out of NYC if the American dream is bs?
@@tomasschuman6576 galaxy brain take
"You criticize society yet you participate in it"
@@gabrielrangel956 whose criticizing society?
@@tomasschuman6576 Adam Neely saying the American Dream is unattainable
@@gabrielrangel956 🤙Aloha nui loa from kauai cuz
Thank you Vox commentators for this recommendation, is better than Vox's video.
Good content
I think the reason for it being in Bb might have more to do with the fact that its very often written for marching bands and wind ensembles (their easiest and best sounding key being Bb), and it would be weird to have a different key between singers and marching bands for such an iconic song.
tbh I came into this video expecting a radical reharmonisation of lmfao's "Party Rock Anthem".
Alex Cooper dude i wish
Old early 2000's...
What genre was that? Hip hop? Rock? Electronic?
Anyways, better than what we have today, in a really odd way. I kind of liked it, especially compared to modern "shooting cops, banging every woman you see, driving like a crazy bastard, and pulling a drive-by on white people" rap.
The CZcams Phantom Official You’re not familiar with the history of rap it seems. Or widespread lyrical content in general. I don’t say any of this as insult. All the topics you call modern have been around for a long time, nor are they exclusive to rap. Look at 70s rock songs. So many of those songs are about sex, disguised with gentler, softer backing music to come across as love.
Tone-deaf individualism is now my favorite phrase
5:34 You didn't just roast the guy who wrote the anthem but the whole land with it!
Massive daaaaaang moment
So wait .... you mean to tell me Americans don't sing their anthem en masse? They just watch a single performer sing the anthem?
santan biswas just look up crowds sing the national anthem. What Neely meant is that it’s not always performed well because of its simple complexity. That does not hold back people from singing along as best as they can. Trust me, been to a lot of sport events in my life and there’s always people singing along, even if it isn’t great
densup oh okay, thank you for clearing it up for me.
We try, and fail. And then we try again. Once in a while, one of us does not fail. One of us who did not fail at it was named Whitney Houston.
santan biswas,
As a Select Choir member in a Washington State school who got to preform the national anthem with my choir two years ago on live television for a baseball game, yes, people do just watch it, but I honestly think that is part of its complex structure like Adam described. There is something to it that makes it something to stay silent at.
I kinda like it when we all just yell the lyrics when nobody can hit the note. That is, if anyone is actually singing it.
10:40 I think I hear Epona coming...
hhahahahaha epona may as well have sung it
Genius!!
You, sir, are a genius.
that was smooth on all levels
HAAAAAAAAAA
This is an astoundingly good piece of content
when my sisters and i used to sing the anthem together, I would harmonize and the three of them would sing the melody line, compensating for each other's strengths and weaknesses. we sang the song together many, many times over the years, and I found that the best effect was created not when we changed the apex of the song, but when one of them dropped to a second harmony at "land of the free." when the harmonies blended together really nicely, it sounded just right.
I thought this was a Rush bass cover.
same, but I still wasn't disappointed with the video
I'm glad someone said this.
Squire Hall A FUNERAL DIIIRRGE FOR EYES GONE BLIND
I was also hoping for rush.
Squire Hall And I'm pretty sure you RUSHed to click the video because you thought that.
That rendition Whitney Houston performed is on another level.
wonder who did that arrangement?
Another bass player of course: John Clayton
Dear Adam, Thanks for all the analysis that you post. Each video has something to offer and I learn from each one of them. Salutes to you.
May your tribe grow! Keep spreading knowledge.
Honestly I'll have to agree with Adam on this one, I personally have always loved "Battle Hymn of the Republic" more than the Star Spangled Banner, and it has a far more modest note range, not to mention its roots are melodically more American. It gives me goosebumps every time!
Battle Hymn of the Republic is an overtly religious.. well, hymn. Not every American is a Christian. And don't try to tell me they should be.
@@BruceEEvans1 Exactly. America was made great by Graeco-Roman values, Christianity has only ever harmed it.
@@BruceEEvans1 The country was founded by Christians. It would be completely normal for the anthem to have a Christian influence.
Bass
Sean Kawanami aDam NeEly'S BaSs LeSSoNs
The Icelandic national anthem has a range of a minor 14th. From the augmented 4th below the octave to a third above the octave above that.
It is very silly.
I just want to say that I really appreciate all the work you put into these videos, they're incredible. Thank you.
Probably top 3 best Adam Neely vids. Thank you
From the perspective of a non-American, this video was legions more interesting and enlightening than you can imagine.
The Finnish national anthem is based on a German drinking song. Its perfect for us.
Oof
Ive been following you for a while now and I just want to say Thanks for all the amazing content and your hard work. I learn alot from you and I really appreciate it!
Adam, thank you for your videos. I always learn so much, and I think the topics you choose are important and meaningful.
Who else wants to see Adam Neely provide his own version of The Star-Spangled Banner? Anything’s on the table
*insert the star spangled banner set to smash mouth's all star*
As long as it has a triple polychord stuck somewhere in there
He plays his own EXTREME rearrangement during the "Because we can, we've come to destroy you" segment....
I would vote for Adam to sing his arrangement publicly on some occasion. It's beautiful. Imagine the horror.
I laughed so hard but yeah
All of the video you make are so thought provoking and mind bending, thanks for the great content!
Thank you Adam! For a longest time I have enjoyed a sort of outsider's fondness for americana. As you can imagine, lately such feelings have been ... discordant, I guess. This video seems to have restored some of the enjoyment, which is a genuine comfort for me.
7:22 I am dying hahahaha so good
kudos man. this was a really good episode. had all the right flavors. youre getting good at this.
Your objective, intellectual lecture juxtaposes sharply with the relief of the incredibly hip, nihilistic comic and dramatic asides
I didn't learn as much from this video as others ,but this may be the best, most well thought out, interesting, and thought provoking video you have ever made.
Excellent video. It always surprises me that people don't know the tune was written by an Englishman.
I nominate "America the Beautiful" to be the national anthem.
musicalintentions truly
Well I mean america was made by the british, but we turned into our own.
Man if I was president I would change the national anthem immediately
@@JonahNelson7 To what?
Been really looking forward to this since the instagram story.
I love the content you find for your channel.
This is definitely my favorite of your videos. your analysis is spot on and very eye opening. I am a Canadian and haven't spent nearly enough time looking at american history. my favorite part was seeing Hendrix or whitney performing the song in the context of oppression and how much more powerful the performance feels. It has like an epic feel to it in that context, like a shocking voice echoing through the complexity of politics and racism during times of vulgar war. Compare that with the "braggadocios" and "self indulgent" performances coming from the people who lack empathy for the history that they're singing about, it's easy to see why this piece is so polarizing. Thank you for this video!!
Wow. Awesome job. That was a really good analysis.
so what youre saying is the star spangled banner would be a great V A P O R W A V E song? its the most ironic mocking of american capitalism i can think of XD
Jack Latham YES. That would be sooo great to listen to.
DO IT!
XDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
Well done video, I wasn't sure where you were going with this Adam but you found a way to make it positive and interesting
Bro, you are amazing. I love your mixed style of satire, informative lessons, and apt references.
Great video! Some object to the sentiment in verses not typically sung. It's interesting that in a nation that amends its government, and did so dramatically in 1865, couldn't find time to replace this song with one that better reflects our current values. IMO, you are only correct in saying that this song is the perfect anthem for the US. if you consider that this song is perfect for a nation still fighting its civil war.
You should (listen to) analyze the Brazilian Anthem. Good arrangement IMHO. The lyrics are a bit hard to get but they're awesome too. The vocal lines are somehow hard to sing for those who never studied music (or don't have perfect pitch).
Kinda hard to understand the meaning of the lyrics if you where not born in the 16th century though...
The Brazilian Anthem was written and composed in 1822, at the time of its independence from Portugal.
No, it is easy to sing. There are no big intervals nor fast phrases and is within the range of most if not all ppl. The lyrics maybe are a tad intricate and poetic but completely understandable with just a couple of uncommon words and some syntax inversions. It has all the traditional characteristics of an anthem. Its only at fault of being a bit too long so it is almost never sung on its entirety just the shortened version.
It is not easy to sing for most people, considering the intervals, phrasing, chromatisms and also for many, the range.
Actually, to be honest, it`s not easy to NAIL it. That`s what I meant. Maybe it`s easy to do it somewhat right, but hard to sing the melody perfectly, for most people.
I love this style of video! Great job as always Adam!
this makes me really happy, because of the way you explained it. it makes me feel more comfortable expressing how i feel. and i never feel more patriotic than when i hear jimi's version or when i feel inclined to just start doing my own rendition of it
As a non American, your anthem is pretty fucking sweet. That melody is great.
We need this. Thanks for your voice of sanity.
Seems like “land of the free” is sounding more and more sarcastic.
Given that it was founded on genocide, it's never been particularly true.
very cool presentation...BRAVO!!!
One of your best so far! Excellent work!
Getting real Vsause-y with this video
...or IS it?
Adam Neely is musical Vsauce.
Adams videos are concise. Vsauce is tangential like a stoner telling a story. I don't actually understand the comparison. I've read this comment on basically every one of his videos, but honestly they're not that similar. They're both thought provoking and not 100% conclusive, but adams videos are more educational and vsauce is more 'woah im gonna blow your mind 50 times in 10 minutes and not going into depth with anything.'
On this episode of Brain Games
but this video leaves me feeling comfy, and Vsauce videos make me drink myself into a stupor trying to forget about the frailty of mankind and the eventual heat death of the universe that sparked from how a frog digests bugs
Fun fact: the Spanish national anthem is completely instrumental. Lyrics have been added at several points in history, but they never caught on. Nobody was offended by any changes (we as a people are not as protective of the anthem, the flag and other such symbols as Americans are), but we simply didn't care because we're used to have our anthem be only instrumental.
I think reflecting on how national anthems reflect the societies they represent is a very interesting thing. You can draw a lot of parallels.
Amazing video, Mr. Neely.
Brilliant and fascinating study, thanks for sharing!
This was so well done. Your videos are always hilarious and well thought out. Loved this one. Keep it up man.
I'd love to see an audience's reaction to someone singing the second verse of this song. I imagine there would be considerable backlash, despite the fact that it answers the question posed by the first verse.
I'm Mexican and I've never been able to even attempt to sing the Mexican Anthem. I don't know if it's as difficult as the American, but just trained singers can perform it well.
Every place where it's sung, you can hear the people not hitting the right notes, and lowering the volume on the high parts.
Man this has become one of my fav channels on you tube. It's all about contents,no bullshit.
This might actually be my favorite video of yours. The bit at 7:20 is amazing!
When do we get the rest of the Adam Neely version from 7:30-ish?
Lol just listened to Arturo Sandoval's version. Really impressive
As an Australian (a real person who lives in a real first world english speaking country outside of America), I found this video essay really quite interesting, and while I feel like you may have slightly extrapolated the socio-cultural meaning from this anthem in your interpretation, I appreciated the breakdown of what makes the song feel so awkward. Our national anthem over here (Advance Australia Fair) is quite easy for the masses to sing. An easy introduction to the song, easy transitions to the single nadir and two apexes per verse. Maybe this does speak about our easy going character as a nation, I can't remember the last time I sang the anthem and we barely ever sing the second verse!
There's plenty more detail about this anthem that I don't have the musical skills to investigate, but I'd love to see you investigate your theories into more detail with national anthems from across the world.
Loved the video, you're awesome Adam!
Your closing comments were very thoughtful! Good job
Adam, you are thoughtful, erudite, insightful and intellectually honest, but you are also fucking funny! I lost it at 7:23
Thanks. This is brilliant.
outstanding deconstruction and commentary - srsly. Loved it.
Very bold and insightful video.
What about my boy Charles Ives? He has a pretty spicy arrangement of this tune.
As a British person I only just realized that you don't *really* sing your national anthem.
That last note by Whitney gave me goosebumps. Super happy to revisit this video after watching the Vox and Adam Neely 2 re-take on the subject.
What an absolutely brilliant way to conclude this beautifully written video. Adam you are a truly rare gem around here.
I've always liked "The Stars Spangled Banner" myself.
Speaking of the big melodic range in the U.S. national anthem, our Norwegian one comes pretty close, at an 11 - like someone already mentioned here. But it's a lot easier on the average human singing voice, despite it almost rivaling the U.S. one in range. What makes it easier to sing is that it hits the nadir and apex only once respectively. And that the melody moves almost exclusively stepwise. I think there's two thirds, and two fourths in it - the latter being the biggest interval in the tune. It was originally written as a 4 part choir arrangement, so it makes sense that it's easier to sing. Thus Norwegians often sing their national anthem collectively at gatherings, most famously perhaps at the May 17 Constitution Day.
In Spain we don't have lyrics, so we can just put a cd player... So much freedom LMAO
Goddamnit Adam, this one was a level above every other video you ever posted. Great job man, we keep looking up to you
Mr Neely, what a great teacher and essayist you are. Hats off! (I indeed mean it; no sarcasm or irony involved.)
Why not in F Phrygian and E minor at the same time.
Here from Vox to see what all the fuss is about.
Edit: Okay, this video is a little bit better but the both of them are good.
afro curly girl yeah but vox copies his
rdubby Just the topic, I'm sure a lot of people who do essay type videos has or will cover this topic.
afro curly girl yeah but it is eerily similar. I'd expect Vox to present more information if they were to make their own video on this. Hm
Gryffon Simmons They both broke it down, so yeah you're going to come across some similar points but this explanation was more political where as Vox video was more light hearted.
afro curly girl me too
Hey man, I just wanted to say that I love your channel. This video is fascinating and inspiring, as is all of your videos. Keep it up, it's good stuff.
I did not expect to enjoy this video as much as I did or to learn as much as I did. thanks
im not american, but i love this melody
haha I am American and I don't even like the American national anthem tbh
It can be a pretty banging tune in the right hands
But it's not a great piece of music.
"America the Beautiful" for the US national anthem!!
Agreed! czcams.com/video/TRUjr8EVgBg/video.html
It's the arpeggios that make it a difficult & also a beautiful tune.
My favorite performance has always been, one trumpet, playing the melody, unaccompanied.
Great video, and it gave me some insight into my own national anthem as well. "La Borinqueña", Puerto Rico's national anthem, has an ambitus of an 11th and I just now learn how tight that might be.