Chapter 7 Notes

Ukuleles, mandolins, and keyboard instruments such as the piano and parlor organ
were commonly found in homes and were often played by women and girls to
accompany singing
Keyboard peformers who could read music often assessed sheet music inside the
pages of womens journals and magazines
By the turn of the 20th century the violin had become an acceptable instrument for
the proper lady
The performance venues of the womens ensembles clearly placed them in nonprofessional sphere
Women performed at parties, at fairs, and in park pavilions, and the interjection of
vaudeville acts and light repertoire made public performances tolerable by societal
standards
In the cities, music clubs provided additional opportunities for women to perform for
each other and for small audiences
Brass bands and concert bands were popular sources of musical entertainment,
particularly between 1895 and 1925
Women instrumentalists were sometimes displayed front and center, even blatantly
advertised as sideshows
Back in the home setting, the greatest amount of music-making remained centered
on accompanied song
Tin Pan Alley: popular music style associated with the sheet music industry between
1890 and 1950; also a physical location of the publishing firms in New York
Song demonstrators were hired to promote the sale of Tin Pan Allery sheet
music, sometimes performing the newest tunes live on the city streets
Example of Tin Pan Alley: Take me out to the ballgame
Parlor song: simple popular song performed by amateurs to the accompaniment of
piano, parlor organ, or small stringed instrument
Audiences of the parlor song were usually amateurs
Blackface: theatrical make-up used in vaudeville and minstrel shows that portrayed
racist stereotypes of black Americans
Coon song: late 19th century popular song that presented a stereotyped view of
black Americans; often performed by white singer in blackface

Minstrel shows were originally performed as early as the 1820s by slaves for
plantation owners, but by the 1890s they were frequently performed by the white
performers who used blackface and made of the genre
Review: in staged musical productions, a variety show with music, but no plot
Musical: a theatrical production that includes singing and dancing; utilizes a plot
Broadway: New York theatre district associated with musical productions; also used
in reference to the productions themselves
Ballad: in the blues and popular music tradition of the 20 th century, a smooth, lyrical
song often about love; in the folk tradition, a song that tells a story of everyday life
Girl Group: a small ensemble of female vocalists who sing popular music
Vernacular dances known as animal dances
Listening
Cant we be friends (Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong)
I love you truly (Carrie Jacobs Bond)