Patriotic Songs at the White House

General Music Lesson for Grades 5–8

Music has long been an important part of special events at the White House, the official home to the United States’ presidents and their families since it opened in November 1800. At this stately mansion, music accompanies gala dinners, concerts, dances, caroling groups, lighting of the tree at Christmas, receptions, and other ceremonial occasions. This lesson offers background on three patriotic songs that have long been heard in the halls of the White House. While it was written as a general music lesson for middle-level students, you can easily adapt it for younger or older students. Also, some of the music, such as “Ruffles and Flourishes,” can be adapted for band or orchestra students.

NOTE: All the historical information on the presidents presented in this lesson is drawn from Music at the White House: A History of the American Spirit, by Elise K. Kirk, published by the University of Illinois Press, Urbana and Chicago (1986) and Musical Highlights from the White House, by Elise K. Kirk, published by Krieger Publishing Company, Malabar, Florida (1992).

Objectives

• Students will read about White House events at which music is an important feature.
• Students will learn about three well-known patriotic songs sung and played on some of these occasions.

National Standards for Music Education

1. Singing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music
2. Performing on instruments, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music
5. Reading and notating music
8. Understanding relationships between music, the other arts, and disciplines outside the arts
9. Understanding music in relation to history and culture

Materials

• Recordings of “Hail to the Chief,” “Hail, Columbia,” and “The Star-Spangled Banner” (MENC’s SingAmerica! Patriotic Collection CD includes “The Star-Spangled Banner” recorded by the U.S. Army Band.)
• “Hail to the Chief,” “Hail, Columbia,” and “The Star-Spangled Banner” sheet music (included in lesson below).
• Teacher can provide scores of “Hail, Columbia” (marching band version published by Carl Fischer, Inc.; choral SATB by Ludwig Music Publishing; and orchestral score published by Edwin Kalmus & Co., Inc.) and “The Star-Spangled Banner” (marching band version published by Carl Fischer, Inc.; choral SATB by Carl Fischer, Inc.; and choral TB by E.C. Schirmer Music Co.).

Procedures

Have students read or hear the information given about each of the following three examples; then sing or listen to the music.

1. “Hail to the Chief”

     “Hail to the Chief” took its first step toward its association with the President of the United States at the ground-breaking ceremonies for the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal on July 4, 1828. Derived from an old Gaelic tune, the melody was adapted by the English composer James Sanderson for a scene in Sir Walter Scott’s The Lady of the Lake. In Sanderson's musical version of the play, a highland chieftain is saluted by the lilting boat song, “Hail to the Chief.”
     The Sanderson musical version was first performed in New York in 1812, caught on instantly, and was successful for many years afterward. “Hail to the Chief” was probably played at the July 1828 ceremony more for its popularity than for any association with President John Quincy Adams, who attended this important occasion.
     It was not until the socially active era of the John Tyler White House that the regal first lady, Julia Gardiner, gave instructions to the Marine Band to play “Hail to the Chief” whenever the president made an official appearance. It is also believed that President James Polk’s wife had it played to announce his arrival when he walked into a crowded room so that people would be aware of his presence, since he was a small man.
     “Hail to the Chief” was the first piece of music Lincoln heard as he stepped into his carriage and started for the Capitol on the day of his inauguration—and it was the last piece he heard before he died. The orchestra played it as he entered Ford’s Theater on the fateful night of April 14, 1865.
     In McKinley’s administration, the short drum rolls and bugle calls (called “Ruffles and Flourishes”) were added before the song was played and are a tradition to this day.
Now, anyone who attends a White House state dinner will see the president and first lady come down the stairs and pause while “Ruffles and Flourishes” and “Hail to the Chief” are played by the Marine Band.

Click here for the music for “Hail to the Chief”
Click here for the music for “Ruffles”

Extension

 

2. “Hail, Columbia” (“The President’s March”)

     “Hail, Columbia” (“The President’s March”) has been associated with the White House since the mansion’s first days. President and Mrs. John Adams moved into the White House on November 1, 1800. Their first reception was held on New Year’s Day, 1801, at which a smaller version of the Marine Band performed. This established the tradition of the Marine Band’s performances at the White House that still exists. The band functioned in social as well as ceremonial capacities from its earliest days. In all probability, based on accounts of their repertoire during this period, they played “Hail, Columbia” (“The President’s March”) on this occasion. The melody was composed for, and played at, George Washington’s inaugural in 1789. It is attributed to Philip Phile.
     At Thomas Jefferson’s Fourth of July Gala of 1801, the band probably also played this song, accompanying Captain Thomas Tingey, a baritone whose voice was described by some ladies in attendance as “divine.” The text was composed for the occasion by Mr. [Thomas] Law, according to an account in the National Intelligencer. However, in other song books, credit is given to Joseph Hopkinson. In these times, song parodies (new texts for known melodies) were very common, particularly in songs of national appeal. At the time these words were written, England and France were at war and Americans were divided by their sympathies for one or the other country. The purpose of the song was to keep America united.
     The song has continued to be performed at the White House ever since, with the exception of some presidents who grew tired of it. One of these was Grover Cleveland, who truly hated it, and William Howard Taft actually put a ban on it during his term.
     Now, the song is, in fact, the “official” song of the Vice President of the United States and is played whenever he enters a ceremonial occasion and is unaccompanied by the president.

Click here for the music for “Hail, Columbia”

Extensions

Social Studies Connections

Composition Project

3. “The Star-Spangled Banner”

     Our national anthem was only officially recognized as such by President Herbert Hoover on March 3, 1931. It was based on the melody of a popular gentleman’s song of the 1770s, “To Anacreon in Heaven.” The lyrics we know now were written by Francis Scott Key in 1814.
     Key, a lawyer, had gone to help free a prisoner on a British ship in Baltimore harbor. From the ship, he watched all night through the battle with the British near Fort McHenry, to see that the American flag was still flying—indicating that they were still in control of the fort.
     “The Star-Spangled Banner” continued to be played at various White House functions through the years. This included an incident recorded at a mobbed New Year’s Day reception during Buchanan’s administration (1857–61) after which one visitor recorded that he “... had the privilege of shaking hands with Miss Lane and having his pocket picked simultaneously in the presence of a strong force of Irish police. All this was accompanied to the tune of the Star-Spangled Banner played by a feeble band in an invisible chamber.” Harriet Lane was the unmarried President Buchanan’s official hostess at social events of this nature.
     President Woodrow Wilson (1913–1921) was especially musically inclined. As a university student, Wilson sang tenor in the Princeton University Glee Club and later in the Johns Hopkins University Glee Club that he helped organize. As president, he had a way of thrilling his listeners by achieving and holding the high note toward the end of “The Star-Spangled Banner” in falsetto. His daughter Margaret, who studied singing at the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore, made a recording of the national anthem during World War I and sang at several White House concerts.
     Another memorable performance took place on June 3, 1921, at the Ellipse, as part of a grand, gala tribute sung to President Warren Harding for his support of National Music Week. There a massive body of children sang “The Star-Spangled Banner” accompanied by five bands, including the Marine Band. The president, visibly moved, said, “I have heard the croon of the young mother to her hopeful in the cradle, the great choruses with their trained voices, the great bands and orchestras, but I have never heard such music as from the sparkling voices of the children of the capital city. It is the supreme music of all my life.”
     On March 8, 1929, a joint resolution of Congress approved “The Star-Spangled Banner” as the national anthem of the United States of America. This famous tune, beloved by countless Americans, met with opposition. Some citizens thought it “unfit for children to sing,” or “too warlike,” or “not American enough in its origins from an old English drinking song,” or just “not a very good tune.” John Philip Sousa’s “Stars and Stripes Forever” was suggested as a better choice. One man wrote an entire book, published it himself, and sent it to the president. His solution was his own composition. But on March 3, 1931, President Herbert Hoover signed the act making “The Star-Spangled Banner” the official anthem of the United States.

Click here for the music for “The Star-Spangled Banner”

Extension

This lesson was written by Marilyn Copeland Davidson in conjunction with MENC: The National Association for Music Education.

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