Talent Shows

The American national anthem can really be a minefield for singers.  I've even seen pros mess up this beautiful melody.  Robert Goulet even forgot the words while trying to sing it at a special opening ceremony.

It's actually a beautiful piece of music. However, they have been thinking of replacing it with something just as patriotic but easier to sing. However, sung by some very talented artists, that can put their creative input on the melody, it can be an inspiring, emotional solo and not just a national anthem.

Perhaps Jose Feliciano was the first singer (that sang it for a baseball game) that gave it his special treatment of bent notes in a manner of a "blues" spiritual. The traditionalists were somewhat critical of his interpretation and thought it bordered on the disrespectable. GI's in Vietnam at the time however wrote in requesting copies of his version. They loved it. There were over 30 thousand requests in one day. He eventually recorded it for the armed forces and even the State Department helped offset the costs.

The authorities and "traditionalists" eventually realized that this modern interpretation is what Americans wanted to hear. It gave way to free expression.  Since then all the singers (if they can) try to emulate this "special" feeling when they sing it. This creative treatment added enormously to the emotional scope and meaning of the words.

To begin with the American National anthem has a range of an octave and a fifth. So many people start with what they feel is a comfortable range not realizing that they will find themselves reaching for the sky at the halfway point (bridge) if they are in the wrong key. Pros who know the pit-falls of the register involved are careful to get test notes so that they start off correctly and not end up straining for notes they don't really have.

On cruise ships, to expand the entertainment program and give the travellers something different and interesting to hear and see, they provide a "Talent Show."  This is usually announced somewhere in the ship's program so that the passengers that wish to participate can make the rehearsal on the morning of the performance.  The show band is usually the group that will back them up.

Sometimes you are surprised by how good the talent is even when though most of them are amateurs. The "Talent Show" is usually presided over by the Cruise Director who usually has a lot of experience running such events.

At this particular rehearsal a passenger came to the stage and wanted to sing that evening.  Boy, this guy knew the language.   He said "I'd like to do Blue Skies, in the key of D minor. Give me a four bar intro and I'll sing a whole course. Let the band do half from the top and I'll come in on the bridge in the second chorus and go out with a tag ending. The tempo will be a medium swing."

The bandleader and cruise director were impressed.  This guy came from Los Angeles and most likely had some experience singing.  Apparently he really knew what he was doing and "didn't" need a rehearsal.  

It's nice when this happens as it saves time searching for a key and running through some song a zillion times. The Cruise director thought this would be a quality presentation and the people would really enjoy it. He was looking forward to hearing someone (for a change) that really knew what he or she was doing.

That night our "star" was introduced.  The band set the tempo and after that I'm not sure what happened. The guy couldn't find the key and sang the entire song (as he directed) about a fifth from the melody. He never found the key once and laboured searching to find "home plate." So much for natural talent.   The annoyed cruise director told me later that it was the last time he would ever take anyone's word for their innate abilities.

Eventually, the Talent shows were replaced with a Karaoke night. On these events it's expected that participants might be bad, out of tune, sometimes surprisingly good or just plain hilarious. None of this matters as these nights are very entertaining and a lot of fun to watch.

There must be something about performing on a stage that intimidates people. The Karaoke setting seems to be more relaxed and spontaneous. It's an "anything-goes" atmosphere and the spectators as well as the participants enjoy it for what it is.

Too bad that the guy that sang "Blue Skies" didn't test out the tune with a Karaoke machine so that he got a better feel for it.

This might not have helped as frequently an inflated "ego" can interfere with a person's sense of pitch.

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