The Star Mangled Banner

I doubt that there is another song more abused then our national anthem. The off key singing of the sports fan who had one too many at the tailgate party, the celeb whose agent thought it would be a could career move to belt it at a ball game (hello Rosane Barr), the wanna be pop star who is nothing without his auto-tune - all have been guilty of high crimes and treason when it comes to singing "The Star Spangled Banner."

To begin with, I doubt very many consider the meaning of the words. In fact, I know many in the general population don't even know them. Every year I audition high school seniors who hope to be selected to sing the national anthem at graduation. They forget the words, swap phrases, add words, invent new lyrics, sometimes even invent words - and you can't blame it all on nerves. I can't tell you how many times I've heard "o'er the land, and of the free." I would bet that most don't realize that "o'er" is a contraction and not the word "or." Admittedly, the lyrics are not Shakespeare, but I have yet to hear them sung as if the singer had any sense of the meaning, drama and poetry they do contain.

Then there's the range. This presents an understandable challenge for non-singers, but I've heard botched public performances by people who should know better, usually because they didn't consider the pitch of the first note. Singers will usually start too high, and then, midway through, realize that the "rockets" are going to be glaringly out of their range. Their usual solution is to quickly modulate to an arbitrary key (pick a key, any key). Every once in a while some overly optimistic soul will just belt away, painfully bursting vocal cords and ear drums as they screech out those top notes.

Lastly, and perhaps the most egregious sinner of all, is the pop singer who considers the melody a mere framework on which to plaster as many runs, riffs, twists, turns, and other musical mischief as possible. The result sounds something like a musical seizure. Any relation to the original tune is purely coincidental. Sadly, audiences usually think this is a good thing and reward the singer with cheers and applause.

Yes, America is the "land of the free," and we are free to sing our anthem any way we want. Freedom, however, brings with it certain responsibilities. One of these ought to be singing "The Star Spangled Banner" in tune, with stylistic sensitivity, and with thoughtful consideration of the words.

On Writing a Musical Part 3

As I mentioned in my last post, the plot to my musical was simple, but despite that (or perhaps because of that) characters and themes began to suggest themselves to me.


The main characters are as follows:

• Crabbottom - thirty something; misquotes Shakespeare; a somewhat lovable rum runner with gangster ties; his father, who also was a gangster, founded the home for wayward girls.
• Sister Salvation - thirty something; runs the home; has a belief that there is good in everyone.
• Willie - late teens; newspaper boy; a dreamer, likes Molly.
• Molly - late teens; one of the wayward girls; pragmatic; a 1930s style feminist.

The characters each had a slightly different look on life which fascinated me. Would the dreamer learn to deal with reality? Would a pragmatic girl dare to take a leap of faith? Would the the gangster learn to do good? Does God have a plan for all of us, or is the world an undetermined arena where we must find meaning and good?


The challenge, and the fun of it all, was to unobtrusively layer these ideas on to the scaffold of the simple plot. Cliches, throw away lines, misquoted Shakespeare, these might all be embedded with a deeper level of meaning without getting in the way of the entertainment.


Then, when I was nearly done with the book, I came across a quote from Anatole France, "To accomplish great things, we must not only act but also dream, not only plan but also believe." This fit the play perfectly and the quote would be a motto for the home for wayward girls.


I thanked my luck (or was it preordained fate?), but was also glad that I didn't come across the quote too early in the writing. I would have been tempted to make each of the characters "fit" - the dreamer, the planner, the doer, the believer. If I had done so, I think the characters would have been iconic and one dimensional. So, the characters don't match up perfectly (real people never do), but suggest and at times are in conflict with these themes.


I don't know how well I succeeded in any of this. For me, however, it was the fun and creative part of writing that kept me going.

The Passing of Jimmy Wyble

I was saddened last week to read that the great guitarist Jimmy Wyble passed away (obit in the LA Times). I knew Jimmy from the 1970s when I worked at Larry Larsen's Music Studio in Glendale. Jimmy rented teaching space there and we would often talk and play guitars between lessons.

Jimmy was a wonderfully creative and talented musician. His style was a truly unique blend of country-western, jazz, and classical music. It was always a joy to hear him play. What was even more impressive about Jimmy, however, was the person that he was. I have never known a kinder or more supportive man.

I remember one day Jimmy and I were talking when a boy of about twelve walked into the studio. After a few minutes the boy pulled out a guitar and played a rather poor rendition of "Stairway to Heaven." Back in those days just about anyone who had ever touched a guitar knew the opening to that rock classic. Few could play it well, and even today it is probably the most butchered song in the history of the guitar.

But Jimmy listened attentively. When the boy was done, Jimmy complimented him. "That was beautiful. How exciting that you are learning guitar. I can really hear that you love the music. You keep practicing and you are going to be a wonderful guitarist." – or something along those lines.

Now from anyone else, I would have said that it was just a bunch of polite BS, but from Jimmy it was 100% sincere. He had the ability to see past the obvious and understand the essence of the moment. It was beautiful and exciting for him to see someone at the early stages of learning a musical instrument. Jimmy could hear the love that someone had for music even through the wrong notes, poor phrasing, and stuttered rhythms. He could see ten years down the road when, with practice, that beginning guitarist would be a good musician.

It was no surprise that Jimmy was a great teacher. Even though I never took formal lessons from him, I learned a great deal about music and teaching from Jimmy. He lives on not only in his music but also in all those whom he inspired with his love and kindness.

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Jimmy Wyble's website is still up. It is worth a visit if only to hear Jimmy play the number on the homepage.