turn of the 20th century

Question 1

what was tin pan alley?

Answer 1

• New York hub for pop music, emerging from publishing houses in which the best songwriters in the country were sought out to write hits
• diverse cultural influence on popular music; predominantly Eastern European
• goal of mass production and standardization

Question 1

when did sheet music go out of favour? what replaced it?

Answer 1

• sheet music was replaced by phonograph record production
• phonographs were invented in the late 1800s, but the mass production of records due to the popularity of Tin Pan Alley songs led them to surpass sheet music in the 1910s/20s

Question 2

what were Theodor Adorno’s main critiques about the popular music that emerged from Tin Pan Alley? what are some of the pitfalls of his argument?

Answer 2

• standardization in the form of AABA structure: lack of creativity or diversity in popular music
• pseudo-individualism: consumers aren’t aware to what extent this music is manufactured since it gives people an illusion of free choice
• Adorno fails to recognize the commerciality and standardization that was present in serious music
• ignores the social context of pop music and its ability to subvert established systems