How to Sing the U.S. National Anthem

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: January 10, 2021 References

The star-spangled banner is a beautiful song that represents national pride. However, many consider it a very difficult song to sing. Luckily, there are several things that you can do to in order to learn how to sing it well.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Learning the Song

1
Listen to the song. To learn the lyrics and melody, download or stream the star-spangled banner on your device. Listen to it throughout the day whenever you have a few extra minutes. Focus on the words being sung, the different notes, and analyze the singer's style and approach.^{[1]
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- Try downloading the song through iTunes or streaming it on Spotify.
2
Watch different people perform the song online. There are many versions of the national anthem and there are a lot of recordings of different people singing it. Look for performances of the national anthem online and watch a few so that you can identify how different singers add their unique touch to it.
- If you aren't sure where to start, look up “Super Bowl performances of the star-spangled banner” online.
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3
Write the lyrics down. Instead of just printing out the lyrics, write them down onto a sheet of paper while listening to the song. This may help you memorize the lyrics, which might be very beneficial if you ever perform the national anthem for an audience.
4
Read the lyrics. After you've written the lyrics out a few times, read what you wrote. This is another memorization tactic that may help you while you're performing the national anthem. Performing for others can be distracting, so you'll want to be at a point where you don't even have to think about the words.
5
Look up any words you don't know. The star-spangled banner was written in 1814, so the wording isn't quite as familiar and common as many lyrics that are written today.^{[2]
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Research source} Defining terms within the lyrics that you don't know may help you to remember them and also understand them. This way, you may also be able to sing with more passion and emotion.^{[3]
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Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Staying on Pitch

1
Start off as low as possible. The national anthem is known as a very difficult song to sing, mostly because it includes both very high and very low notes. Sing the first 3 notes of the song by singing, “oh, say.” Try starting the song in multiple different keys until that third note, the one you sing when you sing the word “say,” is at the very bottom of your range. This will ensure that the higher notes of the song are as low and attainable as possible.
- If you don't know where to start, F is a relatively standard key. If this is too high for you, try singing in E. If it's too low for you, try singing in G.^{[4]
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2
Record your starting pitch. Once you've figured out which key works best for you, play your starting note on a piano and record the audio on your phone or another recording device. This way, you can listen to the recording just before you start singing the song. This may help you start singing the song on pitch with confidence.^{[5]
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3
Adjust your pronunciation of the lyrics. Mouth shape can be very limiting vocally. While practicing, go through the song and slightly adjust how you pronounce different words by making the vowels more narrow. This may make it easier to hit certain notes consistently.^{[6]
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- For example, one of the most challenging lines of the national anthem is, “And the rocket's red glare.” Instead of pronouncing this line like you normally would, try pronouncing it like, “And the rockits rid gleer.”

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Maintaining Power and Control

1
Mark your breaths. If you don't strategically plan out your breathing before you sing the national anthem, there's a good chance you'll run out of air and sound weak. To keep this from happening, mark where you'll take breaths during the song on a printed out sheet of the lyrics. Only take breaths in those marked spots while you practice and perform. Some important places to take breaths include:^{[7]
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- Just after you sing the words, “gallantly streaming.”
- Just before you sing the words, “banner yet wave.”
- Just after you sing the word, “free.”
- Just before you sing the word “brave.”
2
Practice moving from chest voice to head voice. Because this song requires such as wide vocal range, you'll likely need to shift between vocal registers while you sing it. Lower notes are often easier to sing well in chest voice while higher notes are typically easier in head voice. Do different vocal exercises to get use to changing registers.^{[8]
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- Vocal registers are different ways of producing sound. Your vocal folds look and vibrate differently when you sing in different registers.
- Head voice (the higher, lighter, sweeter register) and chest voice (the deeper, lower, more powerful register) are the more common vocal registers.
3
Use runs sparingly. Runs, or melismas, are passages of several notes that are sung to just one syllable of text.^{[9]
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Research source} Many people use runs when they sing and it sounds great, but it's also more challenging to control your voice when you use them. Start out by singing the national anthem as simply as possible, with as few notes as you can. When you feel confident in your ability to do this, add in a couple runs to put your personal touch on the song.^{[10]
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- Artists like Christina Aguilera and Whitney Houston are known for their ability to successfully use vocal runs.