Editing God Save the King (section)

====Standard version of the music====
[[File:God Save The Queen 2007 St Giles Fair.ogg|thumb|right|alt=Church choir sing at fair. A merry-go-round fills most of the background.|"God Save the Queen" sung by the public at [[St Giles' Fair]], [[Oxford]], 2007]]
The standard version of the melody and its key of G major are still those of the originally published version, although the start of the anthem is often signalled by an introductory timpani roll of two bars length. The bass line of the standard version differs little from the second voice part shown in the original, and there is a standard version in four-part harmony for choirs. The first three lines (six bars of music) are soft, ending with a short ''crescendo'' into "Send him victorious", and then is another ''crescendo'' at "over us:" into the final words "God save the King".

In the early 20th century there existed a military band version in the higher key of B{{music|flat}},<ref>Official versions published by [[Kneller Hall]] Royal Military School of Music</ref> because it was easier for brass instruments to play in that key, though it had the disadvantage of being more difficult to sing; however, now most bands play it in the correct key of concert G.

Since 1953, the anthem is sometimes preceded by a fanfare composed by [[Gordon Jacob]] for the [[coronation of Queen Elizabeth II]].<ref>{{cite book|first=Jeffrey|last=Richards|author-link=Jeffrey Richards|title=Imperialism and Music: Britain 1876–1953|publisher=Manchester University Press|year=2002|page=120|isbn=0719045061}}</ref>