MUSICAL LEADERSHIP
Have you noticed that not one of the many eager aspirants out to become president of our nation has, as yet, declared his ability to peform on any musical instrument?
Music has been important to our national life. Our official national anthem is "The Star-Spangled Banner"..the words written September 14,1814. We waited until March 3, 1931 - one hundred and seventeen years later - to make it official and, ever since that moment, many have lobbying to change it. We have been especially blessed in the fact that, when an old tune was found to which the words could be fitted, one was selected which cannot be easily hummed, whistled, or sung . That quality has keep it free from parody. Other national hymns have quickly been given new, demeaning words. They could be and were, sung on any street corners by discontented citizens or outright enemies. They failed as truly national songs with deep, respected meaning.
At least six of our previous presidents played some sort of musical instrument.
Thomas Jefferson was adept at playing violin. We can easily imagine him bowing away with other musicians to brighten his home at Montecello in Virginia or at his governmental abode.
President JohnTyler scraped a mean fiddle, too, we are told. The term "fiddle" is used which suggests his music may have been a bit more on the folky side rather than a formal, classical style.
Many of us remember seeing President HarryTruman seated at a piano and we have seen and heard him play on TV. We were, I think, usually given the idea that the "Missouri Waltz" was about the only tune he ever really knew. I feel that was a false estmimate of his capabilities. Harry played "convivial" piano, if there is such a classification. We find it easy to picture him playing away for family or close friends, or more often for his own, personal relaxaion and enrichment. Harry, I think, actually "heard" far more piano than he played. I play piano it the same way...for my own amazement!
Four more. Who were they?
There was an Alto Horn player by the name of Warren G. Harding. That puts him the high school or college marching band class, but he also played Cornet and must have done a mean " Tea Pot Dome Blues" at one time in his stay in D. C.
Several presidents, we are told, used to sing a lot and well. The loudest and most heard was President Chester Arthur, who had the first bath tub in installed in the White House.
It is easy for me to imagine President Calvin Coolidge, sittin' on a nail keg in the Blue Room, playing "Yankee Doodle"on his harmonica.
Richard Nixon, I think, played piano at one time, and more recently, President William Jefferson Clinton did rather well on B-flat Tenor Sax. He "jammed" with pop musicians from time-to-time as photo-op fodder, but I have a feeling he could get along very well in a band of yesterday with an ad lib style that seemd to fit that age rather than now.
Music is a part of our national make up. It comes, as a profound blessing, in many forms.
A.L.M. November 9, 2003 [c502wds]
