Tin Pan Alley
Pop music hub
Tin Pan Alley was the popular music publishing industry centered in New York City from the late 19th century through the mid-20th century, named for a stretch of West 28th Street where publishers clustered.
The term now refers broadly to the commercial songwriting business of that era, or to its characteristic style—accessible, sentimental songs crafted for mass appeal: a classic Tin Pan Alley ballad.
Syncopated piano genre
- vaudevilleTheatrical variety entertainment
- stride pianoJazz style, leaping left hand
- barbershopHair-cutting establishment
- bluesMournful American music genre
big band · swing · musical theatre · Broadway · torch song · ballad · crooner · piano roll
- Cole PorterAmerican songwriter, Broadway musicals
- lyricistsComposers of song text
- composersCreators of musical works
- melodyPleasing sequence of notes
George Gershwin · lyrics · sheet music · ballad · chorus · verse · bridge · refrain
NYC's densest borough
- BroadwayManhattan theatrical district
- New York CityAmerica's largest city
Published performance notation
- copyrightExclusive reproduction rights
- music publishersCompanies licensing musical compositions
- royaltiesOngoing payments to creators
- ASCAPMusic royalty organization
catalog · songbooks · recordings · music distribution · arrangers · BMI · copyright law · intellectual property
Final Victorian years
- 1900sCentury's inaugural decade
- 1910sCentury's second decade
- 1920sPost-WWI American decade
- vaudevilleTheatrical variety entertainment
silent film · phonograph · player piano · Ziegfeld Follies · music halls · Great American Songbook · golden age
ragtime
Syncopated piano genre
- vaudevilleTheatrical variety entertainment
- stride pianoJazz style, leaping left hand
- barbershopHair-cutting establishment
blues · big band · swing · musical theatre · Broadway · torch song · ballad · crooner · piano roll · sentimental
Irving Berlin
- Cole PorterAmerican songwriter, Broadway musicals
- lyricistsComposers of song text
- composersCreators of musical works
George Gershwin · melody · lyrics · sheet music · ballad · chorus · verse · bridge · refrain · tune
Manhattan
NYC's densest borough
- BroadwayManhattan theatrical district
- New York CityAmerica's largest city
sheet music
Published performance notation
- copyrightExclusive reproduction rights
- music publishersCompanies licensing musical compositions
- royaltiesOngoing payments to creators
ASCAP · catalog · songbooks · recordings · music distribution · arrangers · BMI · copyright law · intellectual property · music industry
1890s
Final Victorian years
vaudeville · silent film · phonograph · player piano · Ziegfeld Follies · music halls · Great American Songbook · golden age
- Music OriginsNew Orleans, Memphis, Nashville, Jamaica, Motown
- Roaring Twentiesflappers, Charleston, speakeasies, jazz age, Prohibition
- vocal musicsong, vocals, soprano, tenor, alto
- Music PlacesNashville, Memphis, New Orleans, Liverpool, Motown
- 1920s Musicjazz, ragtime, Charleston, Dixieland, blues
- American Jewrysynagogues, rabbis, kosher, Yiddish, Hebrew
Tin Pan Alleyart music
Formal composed tradition
avant-garde · underground music · art for art's sake · folk music · indie music
Tin Pan Alleyrock and roll
Rhythm-heavy fifties pop
British Invasion · Motown · punk rock · grunge · hip-hop
Tin Pan Alleyfolk tradition
Community customs across generations
oral tradition · Appalachian music · field recordings · work songs · spirituals
alley, pancake, pans, alleyway, tinned, panning, panned, alleyways, tinning