I went back to watch Biden arriving at the White House as it was mentioned that nobody opened the door for him (lol).
I also noticed that the band seemed to play "Hail to the Chief" in a strange way... after the introductory fanfare (the four "ruffles and feathers") there seemed to be an awkward key change (+2 semitones) when the actual melody comes in.
Listen here: https://youtu.be/eHEApCpnmwc?t=139
Does anyone know why that might have been?
I thought it might be worth mentioning as another weird anomaly that occurred during the transition.
EDIT: I found another example where this happens. Still not sure why. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JW8AJds1CzI
Perhaps its different between Army Band (^^) and Marine Band: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hq8HzYcEBh8
That's definitely not how it is normally played.
I love how they have their bits of white tape/chalk marks on the red carpet so the living dead know where to stand. Absolutely useless. KEK!!
Good find! I added it to the list of anomalies.
It indeed feels bad frequency.
Maybe just a little flat? But very little
Yes! Just barely off.
MusicFag here. The original was written in D major. I’ll have to play along when I have access to musical things to see if the modulated down to a minor key. And which one. Key signature definitely set the tone for the emotions they want to convey in a piece of music.
D MAJOR
Triumphant, Victorious War-Cries
Screaming hallelujah's, rejoicing in conquering obstacles. War marches, holiday songs, invitations to join the winning team.
https://ledgernote.com/blog/interesting/musical-key-characteristics-emotions/
Sheet Music:
https://imslp.org/wiki/Hail_to_the_Chief_(Sanderson,_James)
IMSLP is a repository for music. Great resource for sheet music.
Military musician here, it definitely sounds like a lower key. Usually it goes seamlessly from the Ruffles into the March as far as the key and is played slightly faster than the flourishes. I’ll have to check my music pouch tomorrow to see what key Hail to the Chief is in for the DoD version.
After seeing the second clip, it’s not unlikely that the key gets adjusted for the group performing, ie a brass group or a full band. So it’s not necessarily significant but you’d think that one of the top military ensembles in the world would’ve performed it better for “the president”.
Thank you!
Sounds off
Take it FWIW - a friend who spent his entire tour in TPO at 8th & I listened to it and said it sounded fine to him
Speaking of "ruffles and feathers" ( XD it's "flourishes"), I thought the VP only got 3, and the Prez got 4. But even looking back to Pence's oath of office, they played 4. So I looked it up, and it looks like they play 4 for just about anyone. What a gyp!
Nope, my bad. That's actually correct.
When Biden was entering the White House the song started in B flat. When the melody entered, the band changed the key from B flat to C. At Trump's was inauguration, HTTC was in B flat. When Trump first entered the White House, the song was in C. The key change for Biden is admittedly awkward. Not sure what such a change would indicate though.