score
A score is the representation of musical arrangements with the help of notes, with the different voices (singing, instruments) etc. arranged vertically, making it possible to practice and perform a piece of music according to the intentions of its creator. Music for the ukulele is set in the treble clef. The printed output of scorewriting is called sheet music.
In the late 19th c., sheet music for pop music became an important branch of New York's musical industry (shortly referred to as „Tin Pan Alley“ after its location near the Broadway in New York), because pop music performers were comparatively underpaid. As for ukulele sheet music, May Singhi Breen played an important role in popularizing it in the U.S.
Format
Typically, the item is either a single sheet folded into a folio to yield four pages, or a folio with a half-sheet inserted to yield six pages. In either case, the item generally begins with an illustrated title page often printed in more than one color. The inner pages present the score, consisting of a separate staff for the melody with lyrics printed below it, a piano accompaniment, and chord diagrams or symbols usually intended for the ukulele, but sometimes for tenor banjo or guitar. A copyright infringement warning is often printed in the fold, and advertisements for other items offered by the publisher frequently occupy the last page.1)
Relevance
Index of Sheet Music
The popularity of the Ukulele can be estimated quite precisely by regarding the amount of printed sheet music published since the 20th c.
E.g., the John Hopkins Lester S. Levy Sheet Music Collection has collected the following amount of sheet music with the "Ukulele" or "Ukelele" being part of either the titles or arrangements:
| Period | Ukulele | Ukelele | Sum | of | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1909–1918 | 22 | 1 | 23 | 2.689 | 1 |
| 1919–1928 | 501 | 20 | 521 | 1.462 | 36 |
| 1929–1938 | 1.092 | 12 | 1.104 | 1.363 | 81 |
| 1939–1948 | 235 | 0 | 235 | 644 | 36 |
| 1949–1958 | 127 | 3 | 130 | 328 | 40 |
| 1959–1968 | 17 | 0 | 17 | 184 | 9 |
If we look closely at the „hottest“ period, the details are:
| Period | Ukulele | Ukelele | Sum | of | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1929 | 97 | 3 | 100 | 127 | 79 |
| 1930 | 82 | 3 | 85 | 99 | 86 |
| 1931 | 69 | 1 | 70 | 105 | 67 |
| 1932 | 95 | 1 | 96 | 127 | 76 |
| 1933 | 130 | 1 | 131 | 146 | 90 |
| 1934 | 180 | 0 | 180 | 200 | 90 |
| 1935 | 157 | 0 | 157 | 181 | 76 |
| 1936 | 111 | 1 | 112 | 152 | 87 |
| 1937 | 119 | 1 | 120 | 147 | 82 |
| 1938 | 52 | 1 | 53 | 76 | 70 |
| 1939 | 62 | 0 | 62 | 89 | 70 |
Thus, the Ukulele was hugely popular during the Twenties; it dominated the musical market during the Thirties; and for the next 20 years, its popularity maintained the level of the Twenties. Thereafter, it declined considerably.
Links
- Vintage Ukulele Music — eine riesige Sammlung von Partituren aus den 1920er bis 1940er Jahren (mit der Möglichkeit zum Erwerb)
