Hey Friend,

We’ll take a little break from arpeggios today to celebrate the Fourth of July here in the States. What better way to reflect on freedom than to have a listen to our national anthem?

The Star Spangled Banner was written by Francis Scott Key during the War of 1812 the morning after Fort McHenry (Baltimore, Maryland) was bombarded by British warships. He saw the American flag waving during the sunrise and began writing the poem that would become the song of a nation.

The Smithsonian Institute has an exceptional website devoted to the Star Spangled Banner where you can read the history and hear the song as it would have been played back in the 1800s. 

One of the most famous renditions of the national anthem is the Rock version played by Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock in 1969. He was certainly ahead of his time when it came to exploring all the sounds he could create with his guitar!

If you want to play along to Jimi’s version, here’s the tablature.

If you prefer something a bit more traditional, try this tab. 

Hope you have a bit of relaxation today…

Happy Fourth of July!

Peace~

Dave