The Alma Mater

Throughout my academic career, I have participated in three graduations. Because of this, I am interested in discovering how music plays a role in the graduation process. However, I will be limiting this to the Alma Mater. I would like to find out if they are similar around the country, and across the sea.

First, some basic knowledge. An Alma Mater is the anthem or hymn of a school. This song is typically played at graduation and commencement ceremonies, and sometimes even sporting events. You could liken it to a school's fight song, although it is typically saved for special occasions. 

Now onto the Music!

 I thought it would be best to start off with a local high school's Alma Mater. I chose Byrnes High School as our example. The video showcases the instruments played, but the singing is included as well along with the lyrics. 

 

A few things I noticed, the song includes the school colors as well as the mascot. It also has a line of lyrics that include the ideals students learned from going to High School. This makes the song specific to the school and the students. Lastly, the music itself sounds a bit mournful, almost as if sad to see the students go. The lyrics reminisce about the memories created during the years the students attended high school. Perhaps that is just because the majority of the song is using lower notes.

 

Knowing this, we can compare it to a less local school. For this, I chose John Ehret High School which is located in the state of Louisiana.

 

 

There are a few similarities in both Alma Maters, namely recognizing the school mascot and school values. The lyrics once again reminisce about the memories and friendships from the time spent at the school. However, the video also shows some differences. Most notable to me was that the music sounded like a hopeful lullaby with its rhythm and choice of notes.

 

Now the research truly begins. I chose to look into Alma Maters from the University of the Philippines. I will include both a video and a lyric sheet just because the audio isn't perfect and because both English and Filipino are sung!

Lyrics from Wikipedia of the University of Philippines.  

 

 

Right off the bat, a change! The lyrics look forward to the future and celebrate the success of the students. And in the latter half of the song, it changes into a marching rhythm (although this could just be a new composition from the orchestra)! This is a drastic shift from the sleep-inducing Alma Maters from the other two schools! I believe it is meant to give a rush of adrenaline and excitement for life after graduation. 

 

From this little deep dive, I learned that the melody of Alma Maters is generally lullaby-like and conjunct making them easy to sing for everyone. I also learned a few key items included in Alma Maters are the school colors and memories of the time spent at the establishment. I hope you enjoyed learning a little about Alma Maters with me. 

And just because I am in the mood for graduation, here is one of mine! If you've got an eagle eye, you might just be lucky enough to spot me in one of the shots!