Tin Pan Alley

Irving Berlin (1888–1989) was one of the few popular songwriters of his time to write both melody and lyric, and he integrated both talents in crafting his songs. The author demonstrates one facet of Berlin’s ingenuity by addressing an aspect of melody–lyric coordination common to some songs that consist of a verse–refrain complex. These contrasting sections are examined in terms of large-scale linear/melodic features, employing analytic procedures adapted from Schenkerian techniques.
    In each song studied, the verse melody is found to enact a large-scale ascent to the song’s primary tone, which occurs at or near the beginning of the refrain. Such ascent well represents the dynamics of the verse’s lyric: just as it prepares or sets up the arrival of the refrain (which begins the main lyrical idea), so does the verse’s structural melodic line anticipate the refrain by ascending to its primary tone (which begins the main musical idea). Just as the verse’s melodic ascent serves psychologically to create anticipation, so does its lyric employ the language of preparation, its main function being to lead the listener to the “hook” line of the refrain. Berlin’s verse melodies are thus revealed to be dynamic constructs; they provide a metaphorical “inhalation” that can only be released with the refrain—the “exhalation.”
    Several songs are considered from the above perspective; other significant elements of text painting are also canvassed, as are relevant, idiomatic features of the repertory. In the concluding sections, the author reflects upon the connotations of the analyses for the aesthetic issues of form and balance, as well as performance.

Those who have written about songwriter Irving Berlin (1888–1989) have frequently fixated on two facts, both related to his lack of proficiency on the piano: first, that he preferred to play on the black keys; and second, that he used a “transposing piano”—i.e., one fitted with a lever that shifted the position of the strings vis-à-vis the hammers, allowing any selected key to be heard while the notes of another key are being fingered. Over the years, journalistic writers of minimal musical knowledge have succeeded in greatly exaggerating both circumstances—especially through their claims about the compositional benefits that supposedly accrue from using a transposing piano.
In this article, I set aside received hyperbole and meticulously examine the musical results of Berlin’s labors. My goal is to delimit the various types of expressive chromaticism that enrich so many of his melodies; to consider the ways in which they function, and how they impinge upon a listener’s interpretation. In the main text, 70 songs are cited, spanning a half century, from 1908 to 1957; many are examined in detail, and occasionally in more than one context. Annotated appendices provide information on many more. Because exaggerated references to the piano lever have been so prominent in the Berlin literature, I occasionally return to such a possibility in order to expose its logical inconsistencies vis-à-vis the particular type of chromaticism under discussion. In doing so, I explode the myth that a transposing lever motivated his musical choices, and propose instead the opposite: that it was a very musical ear that guided any lever-twisting that might have occurred. However, the principal aim of the article is to interpret the expressive and structural uses of a vital component of Berlin’s songs, as well as of the Tin Pan Alley repertory in general: chromaticism.
I begin with a more thorough inspection of the “black-key” argument, and the types of pentatonicism that would result from such an approach. Species of chromaticism, of both smaller and larger scales, are then scrutinized. Included in the former category are immediate or directly applied types of chromaticism—i.e., local passing and neighboring tones, blue notes, applied dominants, neighboring and passing chords, and so forth. Regarding the latter category, I consider how chromatic passages can complement the larger-scale designs of songs, through definition and elucidation of four ways in which Berlin used chromaticism on this level: in changes between parallel modes, in exactly-transposed segments or phrases, in tonicized segments or phrases, and in sectional key changes.

Jimmy Van Heusen (1913–90) was a significant popular songwriter in the U.S., during the middle third of the twentieth century. He attained great critical and commercial success with both film and non-film songs, many of which have become standards. His songs are also highly interesting as music, and often embody ingenious compositional designs. This essay is intended to enrich the reader’s understanding of the craft of this talented artist, through a survey of his compositional techniques and mannerisms. Proceeding from a comprehensive study of the original sheet music of nearly one hundred songs, the author examines Van Heusen’s output from the standpoints of several parameters, beginning with harmony, progressing to linear-melodic aspects including melody construction itself, and lastly addressing the integration of all the previous into formal schemes. Van Heusen’s music is shown to have a carefully coordinated structure that underpins an engaging and seemingly simple surface; his songs often embody a concealed compositional sophistica-tion that is as remarkable as it is overlooked.
Although the primary focus is the compositional practice of this particular songwriter, many remarks and observations also have greater currency, relating as they do to the repertory in general. Thus, a secondary goal is to increase awareness of the often intricate elements of design that the repertory embodies.

Îmi aduc aminte cu mare plăcere perioada adolescentină, cînd în fiecare marți și miercuri dupăamiază mă grăbeam la repetițiile ansamblului și corului Hakeshet, care funcționa în cadrul Comunității Evreiești din Oradea. Cîntam la chitară și banjo în formația de klezmer al acestui ansamblu. Ascultam muzici de cu totul altă factură acasă, dar aveam un puternic sentiment că între muzica jazz, rock, blues, muzica contemporană și piesele klezmer-pe care le cîntam cu atăta implicare și drag-există o legătura oarecum ancestrală și firească. Din fericire aveam acces, aproape nelimitat, la pulsul timpului ceea ce privește evoluția muzicală din lume. Făceam parte dintr-o rețea de distribuție quasi ilegală a discurilor vinil și a filmelor pe casete video. Prin această conjuctură mă puteam mîndri cu o colecție impresionantă de discuri. Nu aveam încă 15 ani, dar cunoșteam bine deja muzica de jazz și rock disponibilă la acea oră. De atunci m-am dedicat carierei muzicale, știam exact ce vreau să devin cînd voi fi mare… mi-am urmat visul și îmi trăiesc iluzia din care mi-am creat realitatea existențială. Simțămîntul de legătură dintre jazz/blues/rock și klezmer mă urmărește cu obsesie de atunci. În paginile care urmează voi încerca (fără pretenția epuizării subiectului) să găsesc acele puncte de conexiune-atît muzicale cît și social/istorice-care au creat ceea ce pot denumi parte din coloană sonoră a existenței mele.

Ausgehend vom geschichtlichen Überblick, der sich auf Tin Pan Alley und Brill Building als wichtige Zentren des Songwritings von populärer Musik in den USA konzentriert, thematisiert die Arbeit die Akteure, Strukturen und Prozesse gegenwärtigen Songwritings am Beispiel des schwedischstämmigen Hit-Songwriters und Produzenten Max Martin. Der Schwerpunkt liegt dabei auf dem Zusammenspiel von handwerklichen Fähigkeiten (Songwriting und Produktion) und dem internationalen Netzwerk der Popmusikindustrie. Im Zuge dessen werden kollaborative Arbeitsprozesse wie das sogenannte Track-and-Hook-Verfahren (Track-Produzent und Topline-Writer) sowie die multiplen Rollenübernahmen von heutigen Songwritern untersucht. Das abschließende Kapitel widmet sich den berufssoziologischen Aspekten des Songwriter-Daseins und diskutiert im Hinblick auf die heutige Situation der Arbeit von Songwritern verschiedene Berufschancen und Einnahmequellen.

As brass bands gained in popularity, composers and arrangers naturally produced pieces to supply the ensembles with the music for their craft. It was not long before some of those pieces became arranged for solo or piano performance, sometimes with words attached. These first appeared in the 1870s through to the early 1900s.
A little later, songs were composed which featured bands, extolling the musicians' abilities, the “sweetness” of the music, and other aspects of bands and their relation to the singer. These were particularly prevalent in the USA, mainly being produced by the talented songwriters of Tin Pan Alley in New York.

Populäre amerikanische Musik, die nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg nach Westdeutschland importiert wurde, hat zwei Gesichter. Historische Darstellungen fokussieren die rebellische und demokratisierende Seite, die sie mit den kritischen Jugendkulturen der 1950er (Halbstarke, Exis, Jazzfans) verbinden. Doch schon vorher hatte amerikanische Popmusik einen hohen Anteil an den Titeln, die in der Bundesrepublik erfolgreich waren. Es handelte sich um reine Instrumentaltitel oder bearbeitete Versionen. Wie konnten aus amerikanischen Hits deutsche Schlager werden, die gar nicht als amerikanisch wahrgenommen wurden?
Diese Frage wird im ersten Teil des Aufsatzes erörtert. Der zweite geht differenzierend auf die sozialkulturell höchst widersprüchlichen Jugendkulturen ein, die unterschiedliche US-Musik zum Zeichen ihrer Andersartigkeit und Unangepasstheit machten. Abschließend wird dier Vorgeschichte solcher Jugendszenen und der von ihnen gewählten amerikanischen Musikstile beleuchetet. Hier stellen sich jede Menge Forschungsfragen.

In this dissertation, I argue that Italian opera, a prominent symbol of Italian American identity, has been entangled in the United States with issues of racial difference and social subjugation. In contrast to previous scholarship that views Italian opera as a musical genre that had already defined Italians’ cultural identity in their motherland, I show that opera came to be associated with all Italian immigrants only in the United States, while being adopted by Italian Americans themselves to improve their reputation in their adoptive country. In particular, I demonstrate that the renewed visibility and audibility that the recording industry had assigned to Italian opera at the beginning of the twentieth century contributed to this twinned process of stereotyping and reappropriation, as it enhanced the potential of opera as a vessel for racial and social uplift for Italian immigrants. My research focuses on Philadelphia, a thriving operatic city and a center of opera recording that was also home to one of the largest Italian communities in the country.

The scope of the research calls for a variety of historical sources ranging from archival materials to oral interviews with descendants of Italian immigrants. I examine these materials adopting an interdisciplinary approach that borrows its methods and interpretive frameworks from media history, historical ethnography, migration studies, and critical race studies. Chapter 1 explores the cultural presence of Italian opera in American society in the late nineteenth century, and the extent to which this genre could be employed by Italian immigrants for purposes of social uplift. Chapter 2 analyzes the emergence of operatic references in popular songs about and by Italian Americans published in Philadelphia and other cities between the 1860s and the 1920s. Chapter 3 examines the new significance that recording industrialists attributed to Italian opera in the early twentieth century, and the political and racial implications of the marketing of home phonographs for Italian immigrants and record dealers living in Philadelphia. Chapter 4 investigates the use of Italian opera for the cultural assimilation of Philadelphia Italians in the years between the end of World War I and the Immigration Act of 1924.

Ever since the mid-1950s, it has been common to speak of the birth of rock ’n roll as a revolution. However accurate this label, it obscures some important continuities, such as the degree to which many rock songs have been based on songs from the preceding generations. In the many cover songs like Fats Domino’s recording of the 1940 hit, “Blueberry Hill,” a link to earlier styles has always been evident. I identify a different kind of debt to earlier songs. From the earliest days of rock, many songwriters found ideas in older songs that they reworked in new songs. The songs I examine have taken the title and subject of an earlier song, translating an old idea into something that would appeal to their younger audience. Drawing on translation theory and film theory discussions of movie remakes, I discuss song “reworkings” to describe this relationship. The reworkings that I have identified transform songs that were originally written for Tin Pan Alley, Broadway, or films before 1950 into rock and pop songs written after. Although reworkings are related to the phenomenon of answer songs, answer songs normally respond to very recent hits, not older, often forgotten, songs. As with film, ideas that were successful before 1950 lost little of their power in the years that followed. Balancing all of the revolutionary elements of the new style, there was also an artistic evolution.

Beginning in the early 1900s, authors working within the American music publishing industry wrote how-to books about popular songwriting for aspiring tunesmiths. On one level, these texts are simply the by-products of successful songwriters taking advantage of their celebrity. But while these instructional books are self-aggrandizing promotional tools, they also continue the tradition of musicians writing compositional manuals for his or her students. The utilitarian purpose of these how-to manuals adds to their historical importance. Examining these sources provides an avenue of inquiry into three related areas: how pioneering Tin Pan Alley writers such as Charles K. Harris and others wrote and thought about songwriting; the ancillary business practices of the music publishing industry; and the origins of popular music’s cultural dominance in the twentieth century. Ultimately, examining these how-to books provides a unique opportunity to view Tin Pan Alley from the perspective of music industry insiders.

This article explores and contextualizes the disputes between the music publishing and recording industries during the U.S. copyright debates of 1906-1910. While seemingly antagonistic, a deeper look at the relationships between these two components of
the commercial music industry reveals the ways in which both benefited from defining recordings and enshrining financial interests in law.

Popular music held a particularly powerful place in the public consciousness during World War I. Those fighting the day to day war on the home front answered the calls of George M. Cohen, Irving Berlin, and Harry Von Tilzer to support the boys (and girls) on the battlefields. However, before anyone was sent over, the American people had to be sold on the war itself. Tin Pan Alley worked hand in hand with the United States government to shape public opinion and, while those bonds are often forgotten, they formed the foundations for the close connections between entertainment and propaganda in wars to follow.

Beginning in the early 1900s, figures in the growing American music industry wrote how–to books on popular songwriting for the aspiring tunesmith. On the surface, the texts represent the byproduct of successful songwriters seeking to take advantage of their celebrity both in terms of the potential for financial gains and increased social capital. The utilitarian purpose of the how–to write popular songbook in no way decreases their historical importance. This overlooked area of scholarship provides avenues of inquiry into the craft of popular songwriting, the origins of popular music's cultural dominance in the 20th-century, and ancillary business practices of the music making industry.
Scrutinizing these texts on what they actually suggest to the reader in terms of the creation of a musical composition brings the relationship of the popular song composer to their craft into tighter focus. Often the phrase “popular song” or “hit song” is included in the title of the book to attract the buyer’s attention to the possible financial rewards. Outlining the organizational formats used by these authors to write the texts demonstrates the emphasis placed on the business of songwriting. The primary entry point of this inquiry will become how the individual authors address the compositional process and the language used to express musical ideas. How authors instruct the reader to compose a melody is examined in detail. Analysis of the author's use (or lack) of musical examples will provide insight into how they demonstrate the practical creation of a popular song.