US National Anthem The Star Spangled Banner
Well, it’s finally here! It’s been in the works for a couple of months and after working out the parts plus many hours of rehearsing, I’ve finally completed an electric guitar version of the US national anthem The Star Spangled Banner.
As soon as my version of O Canada (the Canadian national anthem) was released on video, I began to work on The Star Spangled Banner almost right away. Much like what I did with the national anthem of Canada, I wanted to start the American national anthem with a rich, melodic part followed by a crazy, sizzling rock lead guitar.
Instead of using an acoustic guitar like I did in O Canada, I used my Gibson Les Paul electric guitar with a rich, clean chorus sound. Then I switched over to my Gibson Flying V put through my Marshall amp to get a screaming but warm tone that only a Marshall can provide.
The Star Spangled Banner Music On Electric Guitar
Some of you might remember that the great Jimi Hendrix did an awesome version of The Star Spangled Banner on electric guitar. I didn’t want to copy him. Instead, I wanted to use my own guitar style developed since my teens – yes, I’ve been playing guitar for many years (a few decades) already.
This version of The Star Spangled Banner music on video is for all of my American friends, readers and viewers. Consider it my gift to you from Canada to celebrate the continued friendship we have between our two awesome countries.
I’m sure that some folks will say that I just butchered the US national anthem, especially those who don’t like the sound of an electric rock guitar. But that’s okay as what I did was my own art form.
If you end up liking it or at least find it somewhat interesting, that’s great — please share with others via the social media buttons here. If you hate it, that’s okay. Perhaps you can still share it to see what others think – or at least entertain them for a few minutes!
So here it is in all its glory 🙂 Feel free to add in your comments below too (but please don’t be too harsh!)
Playing The American National Anthem Live
Would I ever play this version of the American national anthem live? Hey, if I was ever invited to play it at say a baseball, football or hockey game, I just might (as long as my travel expenses are paid for). If interested in this possibility, just contact me and let’s see if we can make it happen.
Maybe if I ever play music live again in a concert (like I did during my teens and early twenties), I might add The Star Spangled Banner to the set list if I was playing in the United States somewhere. Of course, if I were to play a show in Canada, I would do the Canadian national anthem instead.
Do A Better Video Of The Star Spangled Banner
And if you happen to be a college student majoring in some sort of arts or video production and can do a better video version of The Star Spangled Banner (using my musical version of course), let’s talk as I would be open to such a project if you could use me.
