The Star-Spangled Banner
About this arrangement
Francis Scott Key wrote the words on September 14, 1814, after watching the British bombard Fort McHenry in Baltimore, and first called the poem Defence of Fort M'Henry. The tune was older: The Anacreontic Song by John Stafford Smith, written for a gentlemen's club in London. Congress made it the official national anthem in 1931.
Play the top line alone first so you know the melody, then the bass line alone. Add the inner voices last, and keep the 3/4 pulse steady through the long notes.
Start with short loops.
Use the section list as a practice map. Start at 50% tempo, loop one section, then return to the full piece once the hand shape feels stable.
Choose Right or Left to focus on one hand. Wait for note checks the highlighted notes as you play them on the screen or a connected MIDI keyboard.
Before you practice.
01 Is the national anthem hard on piano?
This setting is intermediate. Each hand plays two voices at once, and A-flat major has four flats.
02 How long is it?
It is 33 bars in 3/4 time.
03 What should I practice first?
The melody alone in the right hand, then the bass line in the left. Put them together before adding the middle notes.
04 Who wrote the music of The Star-Spangled Banner?
John Stafford Smith, an English composer. Francis Scott Key's 1814 words were set to his tune The Anacreontic Song.
