Exam 1, Tin Pan Alley
What was first to be put on recorders?
Brass band and opera
Who would ASCAP not represent?
Non-whites or country artists
Rhythm in TPA
Not a lot of percussion; consistent with regular pulse; very smooth; not aggressive
What is harmony?
Notes at the same time; chords supporting the melody
What is melody?
Notes in series; thing that you sing
What were lantern slides?
Old style of image projection; slide projection
What kind of government can TPA be compared to?
Oligopoly because there were 3-4 large publishing houses
What is a bridge?
Takes you from verse to the chorus; not required; can be same lyrics every time or not; can be instrumental; can change keys; can be a novelty
What is rhythm?
Temporal dimension; how sounds are organized in time
TPA and movies _____.
got along great (TPA would get their songs on movies)
Radio and TPA _____.
hated one another
When did the first radio station broadcast?
1920
What does ASCAP stand for?
American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers
Melody and harmony in TPA
Built around memorable melodies; got stuck in your head; major scales; harmony was straightforward (main chords)
How did music change from a business to an industry?
By publishing and producing; marketing, manipulating the legal system; making deals with other sectors of the entertainment business
What were the 2 main radio networks?
CBS and NBC
What did ASCAP do?
Collect royalties to give to songwriters; very restrictive
Who mostly invested in movies?
Companies that owned Vaudeville houses and radio networks
What is a lyric song?
Each verse will tell a different facet of that theme; chorus will articulate the central theme
What is a narrative song?
Each verse will tell a different part of the story; chorus gives a single theme that ties the song together
Lyrics in TPA
Formal, poetic; romantic; register changes
What was instrumentation?
Group of instruments and voices that go on during a song
What is form?
How the piece is organized across its whole length
What class was TPA marketed to?
Middle class
What was Broadway Melody of 1929?
Movie musical
1920's TPA
Much larger accompaniment; brass, strings, reeds; rich sound; used for dancing; everyday language; crooning
What was Tin Pan Alley (TPA)?
Music publishing houses in NYC on 28th Street; specialized in one style of music
What was the copyright act?
People had to pay so much to the publisher every time a recorder (cylinder) was manufactured
What was a shill?
People paid to write great reviews about music; would sing along; passed out lyric sheet so audience could sing along
Who were songpluggers?
People who marketed and advertised the music; sold sheet music; frequented bars, night clubs, brownstones; paid people to listen to their music; worked everywhere with an audience (even political events)
What was the style of TPA music?
Piano arrangements of popular songs
What was ragtime?
Piano music used to accompany competitive dance
What were 3 major technological advances in TPA?
Recordings, radio, and music
What was bought if someone couldn't afford a piano?
Reed organs
Length of songs in TPA
Relatively long (4-5 min.); changed to 3 min. pop song
What were the songs of TPA like?
Sentimental, emotional, G-rated, moral lesson, cheerful, not sexual (targeted to women)
What is crooning?
Sing in a quiet manner; more romantic; electronic amplification allowed this; before, had to be loud to be heard
What were cylinder recordings?
Sing into the horn; needle digs groove into the wax; songs lasts about 3 minutes; deeper the groove, the deeper the sound
What were some changes in TPA in the 20th century?
Slow death of the verse (long songs wouldn't fit on cylinders); jazz became more popular; style of lyrics changed to more everyday register; sophisticated; crooning
What is a hook?
Small bit of musical material; 4-6 notes; vocal or instrumental; meant to stick in your head; can be multiple hooks; intro hooks and title hooks; can be anywhere in the song but chorus is most important
What were Vaudeville houses turned into?
Theaters
How did TPA manipulate the legal system?
They pushed Congress to enact copyright laws so their profits would be maximized.
Why did TPA partner with Vaudeville?
To have the performers play their songs and get them out there; performers got money while TPA got songs in front of audiences
What was the original use of cylinder recordings?
To record political oratory
What is key?
Tonic center of the melody
I'm Old Fashioned by Fred Astaire
V/C form gone; I, C, O; melodic contour (rises and falls); arcing contour (low, climax, drift off); sophisticated; title ironic; example of crooning
Come Along, My Mandy by Nora Bayes and Jack Norworth
V/C form; very similar to today's songs in form; antique; title is perfect hook; small accompaniment
What was Vaudeville?
Variety entertainment; series of different acts (dancing, singing, comedians, etc.); very popular
What was the form in TPA?
Verse/chorus form; every time the verse comes along, same melody with different lyrics; chorus is the same melody, same lyrics
Where did the name TPA come from?
Very hot in the summer; opened the windows but didn't want anyone copying their music so they wove paper between the strings in the piano; sounded like tin pans
What was the instrumentation of TPA?
Vocal music; accompaniment by a small orchestra
What was minstrelsy?
White performers who would paint their faces and perform racist acts of African Americans (AA); some AA's did the same
Who was Vaudeville marketed to?
Working class
TPA changed music from a _____ to an _____.
business; industry
There were often _____ of the same song.
multiple versions
There was an emphasis on the _____, not the _____.
song; singer
Music making was a _____ activity.
woman's
Radio was great for _____.
working class and poor people
