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AssetID: 35622489

Headline: Amazing Collection of Over 14,000 Pieces of WWI Sheet Music

Caption: The U.S. Library of Congress is showcasing an amazing collection of over 14,000 Pieces of WWI sheet music. From 1914 through 1920, the Library of Congress acquired over 14,000 pieces of sheet music relating to what ultimately became known as the First World War, with the greatest number coming from the years of the United States' active involvement (1917-1918) and the immediate postwar period. Many of these were by so-called 'vanity' songwriters, whereby, for a price, anyone could become a published songwriter. The Library of Congress explain: "America's entry into the war came at a time when popular songwriting and the music publishing industry, centered in New York's Tin Pan Alley, was at its height and a new musical form known as "jazz" was emerging. The sheet music collection represents the intersection of this rich output of popular song and the consciousness of a nation at war that was itself emerging, as a major world power. "In addition to commercially published songs, the collection also contains "music of the people" - the work of amateurs in vanity press editions and unpublished manuscripts. For a price, anyone who could pick out a melody or simply write verse could become a published songwriter. There was a thriving industry of publishers that would produce however many printed copies of a song the customer would care to pay for. Many of the vanity press songs have music and lyrics by client songwriters but many more employed the services of a publisher's composer/arranger, or "pulper". The "pulper" would supply music or arrange a client's tune and set it to the provided verse. The publisher would then print the agreed upon issue on cheap stock using one of a number of standard cover designs. "It is fairly easy to distinguish between professional and amateur manuscripts, but there are many songs where that determination can be difficult. On the whole, rules of traditional harmony are maintained though the complexity of accompaniments varies."

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