Collection context
Summary
- Creators:
- Skinner, Geoffrey, 1963-
- Abstract:
- Collection contains 350 examples of popular sheet music published prior to 1924. All but a few items are piano-vocal scores, a small number are piano only.
- Extent:
- 1 linear foot 1 file storage boxes
- Language:
- Materials are in English .
Background
- Scope and content:
-
Examples of popular sheet music published prior to 1924. Items are arranged by accession number.
- Biographical / historical:
-
In the 19th century, the music industry was dominated by sheet music publishers. In the United States, the sheet music industry rose in tandem with blackface minstrelsy. The group of New York City-based music publishers, songwriters and composers dominating the industry was known as "Tin Pan Alley". In the mid-19th century, copyright control of melodies was not as strict, and publishers would often print their own versions of the songs popular at the time. With stronger copyright protection laws late in the century, songwriters, composers, lyricists, and publishers started working together for their mutual financial benefit. New York City publishers concentrated on vocal music. The biggest music houses established themselves in New York City, but small local publishers – often connected with commercial printers or music stores – continued to flourish throughout the country. An extraordinary number of East European immigrants became the music publishers and songwriters on Tin Pan Alley-- the most famous being Irving Berlin. Songwriters who became established producers of successful songs were hired to be on the staff of the music houses.
The late-19th century saw a massive explosion of parlor music, with ownership of, and skill at playing the piano becoming de rigueur for the middle-class family. In the late-19th century, if a middle-class family wanted to hear a popular new song or piece, they would buy the sheet music and then perform the song or piece in an amateur fashion in their home. But in the early 20th century the phonograph and recorded music grew greatly in importance. This, joined by the growth in popularity of radio broadcasting from the 1920s on, lessened the importance of the sheet music publishers. The record industry eventually replaced the sheet music publishers as the music industry's largest force. (Source: Wikipedia, accessed June 4, 2019: Sheet music-- 19th century)
- Acquisition information:
- Items selected from the Central Santa Rosa Library's former Sheet Music vertical file and Song File collections; and from donations made to the Friends of the Santa Rosa Libraries , 2011-2018
- Rules or conventions:
- Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: A Content Standard, Second Edition (DACS)
Access and use
- Location of this collection:
-
6135 State Farm DriveRohnert Park, CA 94928, US
- Contact:
- (707) 545-0831