Music, Sound, and Technology in America

by Taylor, Timothy D.; Katz, Mark; Grajeda, Tony

• ISBN13: 9780822349464
• ISBN10: 0822349469
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-06-19
• Publisher: Duke Univ Pr

Summary

This anthology of primary documents collects material from the end of the 19th century up through World War II on the material history of sound technologies and music in America. The book is divided into three sections: on the phonograph, sound in the cinema (including musical accompaniment), and music on radio. Each section includes advertisements, articles from the popular and trade press, and other documents and primary materials, including some amusing and surprising selections. There is an introduction to each section, and a general introduction that urges readers to attend to what the selections say through their implied assumptions and audience.

Author Biography

Timothy D. Taylor is Professor of Ethnomusicology and Musicology at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is the author of The Sounds of Capitalism: Advertising, Music, and the Conquest of Culture and Beyond Exoticism: Western Music and the World, which is also published by Duke University Press. Mark Katz is Associate Professor of Music at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He is the author of Capturing Sound: How Technology Has Changed Music and Groove Music: The Art and Culture of the Hip-Hop DJ. Tony Grajeda is Associate Professor of Cultural Studies in the Department of English at the University of Central Florida. He is a co-editor of Lowering the Boom: Critical Studies in Film Sound.

Table of Contents

General Introduction: Music Technologies in Everyday Life	p. 1
Sound Recording
Introduction	p. 11
Sound Recording: Readings	p. 29
Predictions
Thomas A. Edison, "The Phonograph and Its Future" (1878)	p. 29
"The Phonograph," New York Times (7 November 1877)	p. 37
Philip G. Hubert Jr., "What the Phonograph Will Do for Music and Music-Lovers" (May 1893)	p. 39
The Listener and the Phonograph
Learning to Listen
Edison Realism Test, Broadside (c. 1916)	p. 44
"Illustrated Song Machine," Talking Machine World (October 1905); "Illustrated Song Machine," Talking Machine World (November 1905)	p. 45
Orlo Williams, "Times and Seasons," Gramophone (June 1923)	p. 45
The Phonograph in Everyday Life
How We Gave a Phonograph Party (1899)	p. 48
Jas. O'Dea, Arthur Gillespie, and Herbert Dillea, "Susan, Dear Sue (The Phonograph Song)" (1901)	p. 52
Pauline Partridge, "The Home Set to Music" (November 1924)	p. 53
Thomas A. Edison, Inc., questionnaire and responses (1921)	p. 56
The Phonograph and Music Appreciation
Annie Pike Greenwood, "The Victor in the Rural School" (26 February 1914)	p. 65
"Organize a Music Memory Contest," Talking Machine Journal (March 1919)	p. 67
Men, Women, and Phonographs
Victrola advertisement, Collier's (4 October 1913)	p. 70
Aeolian-Vocation advertisement, Vanity Fair (May 1916)	p. 70
Gladys L. Kimmel, "Having Different Types of Women Customers" (June 1920)	p. 71
Scrutator, "Where Are the Ladies?" (June 1925)	p. 75
T.A.F., "Ladies and Gramophone" (August 1925)	p. 75
Gladys M. Collin, "Women and the Gramophone" (October 1925)	p. 76
Dorothy B. Fisher, "Women and the Phonograph" (October 1926)	p. 77
Music and the Great War
"Talking Machines Are 'Essentials'" (December 1917)	p. 78
Vivian Burnett, "When I Hear That Phonograph Play" (1918)	p. 80
"Phonographs on the Firing Line" (19 October 1919)	p. 81
Performers and the Phonograph
In the Recording Studio
"How Talking Machine Orchestras Operate" (September 1910)	p. 84
Yvonne de Treville, "Making a Phonograph Record" (November 1916)	p. 85
Baby Dodds, The Baby Dodds Story (1992)	p. 88
Edwin McArthur, "Conducting for Record" (March 1941)	p. 92
The Phonograph and Music Pedagogy
"The Effect of Mechanical Instruments upon Musical Education" (July 1916)	p. 94
Oscar Saenger, The Oscar Saenger Course in Vocal Training (1916)	p. 103
The Phonograph and the Composer
The Composer in the Machine Age
Henry Cowell, "Music of and for the Records" (March-April 1931)	p. 104
Igor Stravinsky, An Autobiography (1936)	p. 107
The Phonograph as a Compositional Tool
Carol-Bérard, "Recorded Noises-Tomorrow's Instrumentation" (January-February 1929)	p. 110
Igor Stravinsky, "Meine Stellung zur Schallplatte" (March 1930)	p. 113
Phonograph Debates
Con
John Philip Sousa, "The Menace of Mechanical Music" (1906)	p. 113
Portland (Oregon) City Council, "An Ordinance Regulating the Use of Phonographs" (14 August 1907); Minutes of the Portland City Council (27 November 1907)	p. 122
Joseph N. Weber, "Canned Music-Is It Taking the Romance from Our Lives?" (November 1930)	p. 123
Pro
Paul H. Cromelin, "'The Menace of Mechanical Music'" (1906)	p. 126
Anne Shaw Faulkner, "Phonographs and Player Instruments" (August 1917)	p. 129
Cinema
Introduction	p. 137
Cinema: Readings	p. 145
Technologies of Sight and Sound
"The Kineto-Phonograph" (16 June 1894)	p. 145
"The Perfection of the Phono-Cinematograph" (14 September 1907)	p. 148
Advertisement for Picturephone, "Singing and Talking Moving Pictures" (11 January 1908)	p. 149
"The Singing and Talking Picture-What Is Its Future?" (7 May 1910)	p. 149
"Talking 'Movies'" (8 March 1913)	p. 152
Sounds of the Cinema: Illustrated Song Slides; The Role of the Voice (lecturers, actors); Incidental Musics, Special Effects, Ballyhoo, and Noise of the Audience
Chas. K. Harris, "Illustrating Song Slides" (9 March 1907)	p. 153
Chas. K. Harris, "Song Slide Review" (16 March 1907)	p. 156
H. F. Hoffman, "The Singer and the Song" (4 June 1910)	p. 158
Van C. Lee, "The Value of a Lecture" (8 February 1908)	p. 161
E. Esther Owen and W. M. Rhoads, "The Value of a Lecture with the Show" (22 February 1908)	p. 163
Sydney Wire, "How Talking Pictures Are Made; Scarcity of Picture Actors" (22 August 1908)	p. 164
W. Stephen Bush, "The Human Voice as a Factor in the Moving Picture Show" (23 January 1909)	p. 166
James Clancy, "The Human Voice as a Factor in the Moving Picture Show" (30 January 1909)	p. 169
"Trade Notes," "When 'Music' Is a Nuisance" (28 December 1907)	p. 171
"Sound Effects: Good, Bad, and Indifferent" (2 October 1909)	p. 172
Playing to the Pictures
Performative Accompaniment
Clarence E. Sinn, "Music for the Picture" (23 April 1910)	p. 173
Louis Reeves Harrison, "Jackass Music" (21 January 1911)	p. 176
Wm. H. McCracken, "'Jackass Music'" (28 January 1911)	p. 180
Mrs. Buttery, "'Jackass Music"' (4 February 1911)	p. 181
W. Stephen Bush, "Music and Sound Effects for Dante's Inferno" (27 January 1912)	p. 182
L. Szeminanyi, "Playing to Pictures" (February 1921)	p. 189
"A Cinema Musician," "Atmosphere" (March 1926)	p. 190
The Organist of the Picture Palace
Ernest M. Skinner, "Cinema Music" (August 1918)	p. 192
J. van Cleft Cooper, "Creation of Atmosphere" (June 1922)	p. 196
Conducting and Scoring to the Movies
"How Music Is Made to Fit the Films" (26 January 1918)	p. 200
Doron K. Antrim, "Possibilities of Movie Music-Present and Future" (15 February 1926)	p. 202
Victor Wagner, "Scoring a Motion Picture" (September 1926)	p. 205
Josephine Vila, "Hugo Riesenfeld Tells How He Scores a Film" (17 February 1927)	p. 209
Taste, Culture, and Educating the Public
Frank A. Edson, "A Word about Suitable and Unsuitable Music in Moving Picture Productions" (March 1918)	p. 212
"Choosing Picture Music That Pleases the Patrons: An Interview with Edward L. Hyman" (1 February 1926)	p. 215
Dr. Sigmund Spaeth, "Why Music Is Becoming the Important Element in Picture Presentation" (15 March 1926)	p. 217
Josephine Vila, "Opera Singer Gets Thrill out of Screen Debut" (20 January 1927)	p. 221
L. K. Sidney, "What Modern Music Has Done to the Motion Picture Theaters" (January 1928)	p. 223
Responding to the Talkies
An Interview with Joseph N. Weber, "Will Machine-Made Music Displace Real Music in Our Theaters?" (September 1928)	p. 226
Warren Nolan, "Talking Pictures and the Public" (1929)	p. 229
"What the Fans Think": "Talkie Gets a Guffaw" (March 1929); "Voice Censor Suggested" (March 1929); "Another Fan Deserts!" (April 1929); "Real Singers Would Go Over" (February 1932); "Carrying English to England" (February 1932); "Adores Yankee Talk" (November 1932); "Our Rural Accents" (November 1932)	p. 233
Radio
Introduction	p. 239
Radio: Readings	p. 255
Radio as Dream, Radio as Technology
"Distributing Music over Telephone Lines" (18 December 1909)	p. 255
"Radio Telephone Experiments" (May 1910)	p. 258
David Sarnoff, "Radio Music Box" (c. 1916-1920)	p. 259
Bruce Bliven, "The Ether Will Now Oblige" (15 February 1922)	p. 260
Joseph Riley, "Five Minutes of Radio for a Nickel" (April 1926)	p. 265
Early Broadcasts: Performer and Listener Impressions
Leon Lichtenfeld, interview	p. 266
Leon Alfred Duthernoy, "Singing to Tens of Thousands; Impressions of an Artist during His First Radio Concert" (November 1922)	p. 267
Helen Keller, letter to the Symphony Society of New York (10 February 1924)	p. 271
George McClelland, memorandum for Mr. J. A. Holman (March 1924)	p. 272
Radio in Everyday Life
"Wireless Music and News for the Roller Chair Passenger" (7 August 1920)	p. 275
"Very Latest in Wireless; Union College Students Find a 'Universal Lullaby' for Babies" (11 May 1921)	p. 276
"Radio Now Heard on Buses in New York City" (27 May 1922)	p. 276
"Advance Seat Sale for Radio Concerts" (October 1923)	p. 277
Bess B. Harris, letter to the editor (April 1924)	p. 277
'"Sing Down the Cattle' by Radio" (October 1926)	p. 279
"Wedding Has Radio Music" (1 January 1927)	p. 279
Healing
"Maimed and Sick Forget Pain in Model Radio-Equipped Ambulance" (3 June 1922)	p. 279
Ward Seeley, "Radio Relief for the Ailing" (August 1922)	p. 280
"Jazzing the Deaf by Radio" (March 1926)	p. 285
Economics of Radio Broadcasting
Laurence Blackhurst, "Radio Music Fund Committee Appeals to Listeners-In for Contributions" (1 March 1924)	p. 285
"How Much Should Good Radio Program Cost?" (January 1930)	p. 287
Advertising
"Radio Broadcast Advertisements; Airphone Advertising Will Kill Fan Interest" (24 June 1922)	p. 288
Davey Tree Hour (5 January 1930)	p. 289
J. Walter Thompson Company, staff meeting minutes (14 January 1930)	p. 295
Martin L. Davey, letter to E. P. H. James (1 September 1931)	p. 296
Martin L. Davey, "Secrets of a Successful Radio Program" (1 July 1932)	p. 297
Justine Magee, undated fan letter to Martin L. Davey (c. 1930-32)	p. 300
Music on the Radio
Con
A. J. M. "Radio Just Another Blight" (31 December 1925)	p. 301
Paul Kempf, "Thomas A. Edison Sees a Menace for Music in the Radio" (January 1927)	p. 302
Pro
John C. Freund, excerpts from an address broadcast from WJZ (May 1922)	p. 305
Lee de Forest, "Opera Audiences of Tomorrow" (5 August 1922)	p. 307
"Programs Lauded by Bandmasters" (12 September 1926)	p. 309
What Do Listeners Want?
E. F. McDonald Jr., "What We Think the Public Wants" (March 1924)	p. 311
Crooning
Floyd Gibbons School of Broadcasting, "How to Train a Singing Voice for Broadcasting" (1932)	p. 316
Martha Gellhorn, "Rudy Vallée: God's Gift to Us Girls" (7 August 1929)	p. 316
"Cardinal Denounces Crooners as Whiners Defiling the Air" (11 January 1932)	p. 319
Whitney Bolton, "Mr. Bolton Queries 'When Was a Crooner a Man in Love?'" (12 January 1932)	p. 320
"Crooners Cover Up; Pass Well Known Buck" (13 January 1932)	p. 322
"Crooning Comes by Nature" (24 February 1932)	p. 323
Radio behind the Scenes
Getting on the Air
James H. Collins, "How to Get on a Radio Program" (February 1925)	p. 324
Audition form, National Broadcasting Company (c. 1930)	p. 331
Olive Palmer, "Requirements of the Radio Singer" (December 1931)	p. 332
Myda Adams, letter to John Royal (11 January 1932)	p. 339
"Have You a Radio Voice?" (28 January 1932)	p. 339
Talent
Harvey B. Gaul, "The Vicissitudes of a Radio Impresario" (September 1922)	p. 340
Production behind the Scenes
Gustav Klemm, "Putting a Program on the Air" (March 1933)	p. 344
Herbert Devins, "A Glimpse 'behind the Mike' during the Palmolive Hour" (December 1929)	p. 351
Composing for the Radio
Viva Liebling, "Creating Scores for Radio" (20 January 1944)	p. 354
Rose Heylbut, "The Background of Background Music" (September 1945)	p. 358
How to Listen to Music on the Radio
Peter W. Dykema, "Music as Presented by the Radio" (1935)	p. 361
Notes	p. 367
References	p. 387
Index	p. 399
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