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Tin Pan Alley

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Genre

Tin Pan Alley · From about 1885, music publishers settled close together in Manhattan, from the 1890s mainly on West 28th Street. Songwriters wrote songs, publishers sold them as sheet music and song pluggers played them; from the 1920s, the 32-bar song in AABA form became the standard. Irving Berlin, George Gershwin and Cole Porter were the big names.

From the timelines

Tin Pan Alley (1903)

Around 1900, dozens of music publishers in New York were housed in the same stretch of street: West 28th Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenue. Every office had a piano, on which new songs were tried out all day long. On warm days, that sounded through the open windows like someone banging on pots and pans. That is how the street got the nickname Tin Pan Alley. Writing songs became a profession here, with an office and a deadline.

Listening

Listening tip. In White Christmas, hear how Bing Crosby sings softly and close by, thanks to the microphone: crooning.

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Categories: Genres