Talk:Parlor music

Examples given
I'm not expert on exactly what would and wouldn't be considered parlor music, but, by my sense of the term, the listed examples seem a bit biased toward the art song side. (Also, the list is entirely English-language songs, and this was certainly not a stricly English-language phenomemon. "Santa Lucia" would be a parlor song, wouldn't it?) Wouldn't "Home! Sweet Home!" also be considered a parlor song? And more upbeat songs on the verge of ragtime, like "A Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight"? And many crossovers from blackface minstrelsy? - Jmabel | Talk 05:31, 14 November 2006 (UTC)


 * The minstrelsy matter is now mentioned. The rest of this remains to be addressed.


 * Also, we might want to discuss this a bit in terms of the music industry. Music as an industry began with blackface minstrelsy; parlor songs were the next major area to become somewhat industrialized. - Jmabel | Talk 07:05, 20 November 2006 (UTC)

"Home, Sweet Home" is indeed a parlor song, and a classic one. I've added it to the list of typical songs of this genre. It was first heard in an opera, and is thus covered by my discussion of the sources of parlor songs. "A Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight" did not become part of the parlor repertory; it actually belongs to the genre of campfire songs, for which there is no entry. The central point of the present article is that parlor songs were defined not only by their function, of being performed by amateurs in their homes, but eventually also by their distinctive musical style, which developed into something midway between popular and classical music. I respectfully disagree with the comments about the music industry. Music publishing (of songs) didn't begin with blackface minstrelsy, but dates back well into the 18th century. Parlor songs were disseminated as printed sheet music and as anthologies, but they were only part of what the music industry brought out. Concerning language --  many parlor songs (by Franz Abt, among others) originally had texts in a language other than English, but were published and sung in English translation. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 129.170.78.242 (talk • contribs).


 * Printed sheet music certainly predates the rise of minstrelsy, but I do think there was more of an "industry" starting in the mid-1830s than before that. But, no, I don't have good citations for that; I may try to track something down some time. - Jmabel | Talk 01:32, 25 January 2007 (UTC)