Tin Pan Alley refers to what kind of place and activity?

• A. Wall Street of music publishing in New York City where musicians and composers created popular songs; style borrowed from jazz and African American sounds/themes
• B. A district in London for opera composers
• C. A type of percussion used in Caribbean music
• D. A hall in Chicago for blues performances

Answer: (A)

Tin Pan Alley is the nickname for New York City's music publishing hub where songwriters and publishers created and sold popular songs for the mass market. It earned the image of a busy, noisy center—the clatter of many pianos in office basements and storefronts gave the place its distinctive name. As the “Wall Street of music publishing,” the focus was on writing, arranging, printing, and distributing sheet music, so people could play the songs at home or in small venues. The music coming out of this scene drew on jazz and African American musical ideas, helping to shape the sound of American popular music in the early 20th century. It isn’t a London opera district, a percussion instrument, or a Chicago performance hall, which is why those options don’t fit.