Take Me Out to the Ballgame!
- H B
- Apr 3
- 2 min read
Spring is certainly in the air when we hear this classic tune that celebrates baseball season! The iconic lyrics to "Take Me Out to the Ballgame," were written in 1908 on a New York City Subway ride, by 29 year old Tin Pan Alley songwriter and vaudeville performer, Jack Norworth, (John Godfrey Knauf, 1879-1959.) Legend has it that while Norworth was riding the train, he spotted a sign informing of an upcoming baseball game at the NYC Polo Grounds. Inspiration for something new to write had the lyricist pulling out a pencil and what may be the back of an envelope, (photo below) jotting down an imaginative scenario, where one Miss "Katie Casey," an avid baseball fan, tells her admiring friend of a better way to spend a day, and perhaps even win her heart! Norworth offered the rather rough draft to his musical partner, Albert von Tilzer, (Albert Gumm, 1878-1956,) and the rest is....Baseball and Music History!
You may notice the creative way the composer arranged the melody around a basic chord progression, I-V-VI-ii-IV-V-I - starting with a memorable octave jump that repeats throughout! We might imagine these notes as musical hints toward the idea of jumping up out of our seats, as we often do at a baseball game! Notice that the music also moves down during the lyrics, "One-Two-Three Strikes You're Out!" -but also - swings around again, upward on the last three notes to the octave; "Old-Ball-Game...!" offering us a musically soaring line, much like the way the batter hits a home run, with the baseball flying over the field!
Sing, play, conduct, (and even waltz!) along to this wonderful American classic, demonstrated here on the violin by Dr. Nicole Wright.
The conducting pattern below illustrates the three beats per measure in this piece. To feel the pulse of the musical phrases, try out using the motions indicated below! You can use the right hand and arm, the left, or extension outward for beat two, and an upward movement back to the original position for beat 3. (Think of the shape of a right triangle!) You might prefer to think about or tap out the time signature of the piece, with the feeling of 'one-two-three' repeated throughout. (This is sometimes referred to as a "Waltz" pattern.)
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