Four Traps to Avoid when Singing The Star-Spangled Banner

Think The Star-Spangled Banner is impossible to sing? That only superstars can salute our nation in song? Think again! By the end of this lesson, you’ll know the four traps to avoid when singing our country’s national anthem so you can celebrate the USA and impress your friends this Independence Day.

Hi, I’m Roger Love, celebrity voice coach and top-selling author. I’m working to make the world a better place, one singing voice at a time, starting with yours!

As we celebrate our freedom this Independence Day, I’m going to help you set your voice free! Get ready to hear some of the same strategies I give my celebrity clients as they prepare to sing The Star-Spangled Banner at concerts and sporting events.

Although our national anthem includes a wide range of notes and has its challenging sections, I believe anyone can conquer it. You just have to know which traps to avoid.

So let me help you bring crowds to their feet and fill stadiums with applause this Fourth of July.

Here are the four traps to avoid when singing The Star-Spangled Banner.

Trap Number One: Getting Started On The Wrong Note

So many singers fall into this first trap on the very first note of our national anthem. This is because many people begin the song on too high of a note for their voice! Then, as the song goes higher in pitch, they run out of range. That’s when they start squeaking, cracking, and jumping their voice. And usually, that’s the point when they decide they’ll never be able to sing The Star-Spangled Banner.

Well, I don’t want that to happen to you! So here’s how to avoid trap number one: start on a note at the very bottom part of your range. It should be a place where you can make some sound and feel comfortable but still give yourself enough “vocal runway” to keep going up in pitch.

Volume Control: Trap Number Two

Pitch escalation in The Star-Spangled Banner is the main cause of the second trap as well. As the song moves higher in pitch, many singers try to increase their volume. This creates a string of unwanted consequences. To begin, an increase in volume sends a lot more air to the vocal cords. This excess air causes the vocal cords to lock in their current position and create pressure. It’s this pressure that restricts the cords’ movement, preventing them from hitting the note you want. As a result, you’re off key or may make your voice incredibly sore.

Here’s how to avoid trap number two: Be aware and in control of your volume. Your decibel level should remain exactly the same as you go from the lowest pitch to the highest. This relieves the pressure on your cords and makes it easier for you to actually hit the high notes that bring that epic, historic atmosphere to the song.

Save Your Smiles for Trap Number Three

Love for your country is something to smile about. Just don’t smile while you’re singing! As singers reach the end of the anthem, many reach the “land of the free” lyrics and break out a smile as the crowd goes wild with whistling. But smiling pushes out the corners of your mouth, forcing your breath up through your nose and restricting your pronunciation. At such a powerful point in the song, the last thing you want to do is drown out the words.

Instead, skip the trap with this trick: Whether you’re being recorded on the big screen or live streaming from your backyard, save your shiny smile for the moments before and after the song. Trying to multitask between singing and smiling harms your performance and you and your country deserve better than that!

Word Crimes Fall in the Fourth Trap

My fourth and final tip comes down to memorizing the words. When I work with famous singers who are in the middle of yearlong tours, we find ways to spice up a couple lyrics here and there or change an ending so the audience is surprised and the performer doesn’t go insane from singing the same twelve songs every night for 365 days.

But there’s an important difference between wanting to spice up your own music and participating in the tradition of performing our country’s national anthem. I have personally watched dozens of incredible singers fumble lyrics to The Star-Spangled Banner assuming that a great-sounding performance is more important than lyrical accuracy.

What they’re forgetting is that those lyrics are nearly 200 years old and carved in stone. They’ve been sung during timeless moments and represent a historical tradition honored in all fifty states, regardless of race, religion, and political opinion. When you remember this significance, it’s easy to see how it’s disrespectful to forget the lyrics to the national anthem during a public performance.

Luckily, this is an easy fix. Here’s a tip to avoid the fourth trap: learn the words! We’ve posted a link to the lyrics for you on the transcript under this video on my blog at RogerLove.com.

Now that you know the four traps to avoid when singing The Star-Spangled Banner, you can impress your friends and realize your dream of singing our national anthem with a flawless, full voice worthy of a great nation.

In honor of Independence Day, I want to help you set your voice free! This Fourth of July, get four FREE singing lessons from me at RogerLoveSingingAcademy.com. Go there now to get a singing voice that lights up the world like fireworks on The Fourth.

Happy Independence Day!