America the Beautiful

A parishioner requested “America the Beautiful” to include in the programme on the weekend before Independence Day. For Catholic mass, I played it as a recessional hymn on the organ while the young cantor lead the congregation who sang more loudly than usual. This request, along with other comments on my post in Facebook, prompted me to look into arranging the unofficial national anthem for easy piano and instrumental ukulele solo on Independence Day, 4th of July 2023, a rainy day in Boston, Massachusetts.

Like “God Bless America” this song’s rich harmonies offer opportunities for arranging four-part singing and glorious instrumental realizations.

Can it be reduced to a three or four chord song without compromise? Certainly, it’s possible except for the verse in the four line “above the fruited plain” or “across the wilderness” which requires the cycle of secondary dominants (A7 is the dominant of D7 which is the dominant of G etc), as seen in this ukulele song sheet.

Some ukulele song sheets add diatonic chords like Em and Dm to enrich the three basic chords of C, F, and G7. Others use diminished 7th chords to subsitute for secondary dominants. Ultimately, the bass line is not to be missed, as shown in this song sheet.

Towards the goal of arranging this song for instrumental solo, it’s not necessary to choose a key that optimizes your singing voice, for it’s meant to be played and not sung. For the ukulele, it’s a matter of choosing chords with the right voicing, such that the melody is heard or played on the highest note, as shown in this ukulele tabbed arrangement.

For the piano, the key of C major is easier than any other key.

When I see chords that are held more than one beat, my piano fingers naturally break them up rather than play the chords as block chords, like a hymn. I arpeggiate to make the song sound like a ballad, filling the blanks. It helps to see the different chord diagrams above the notes.

Beginner pianists will appreciate the fingerings for the right and left hands. More advanced pianists will be able to fill in the given chords with the correct inversions. In the above sample, The C and G7 chords are given in root position. However, “amber waves of grain” requires the right hand to play the chords given (F, C, F, G7) while the left hand holds the G as bass.

There are many harmonic possibilities for “above the fruited grain” – the simplest being a circle of secondary dominants as shown below for high G ukulele.

It’s also possible to use diminished chords to add color, as shown below.

Given the many possibilities, how does one choose?

Perhaps the following guidelines will help.

Who is the target user of your arrangement?

1. If it’s a singer, find the best key for this song for his or her voice.
2. If it’s a pianist, arrange for his or her skill level. Beginner need fingering for every note.
3. If it’s a ukulele player, ask if it is intended to accompany singing or is it for instrumental solo (also known as chord melody arrangement).

For inspiration, check out Jake Shimabukuro’s chord melody arrangement in his video.

Support 3 Chord Thursday

Until my 8-week music classes restart in September 2023, I’m offering my arrangements as a free gift to those who register for the Summer Season 2023 of 3 Chord Thursday, the thematic song session in Zoom which lasts one hour on the 1st, 3rd, and 5th Thursdays of each month. Register to access a single session, a month (two or three sessions depending on the month), or a season (July, August and September) and choose one of two arrangements (God Bless America or America the Beautiful, or both. Click on the image below for the Google Form.