New Britain herald., 1928-05-15
Authority on Composition Explains, on Piano, How Tin Pan Alley" Gets Its Inspiration.

Tin Pan Alley-the factory in New York where sundry commercial minded gentlemen manufacture and market popular tunes like so many cases of shoes or sardines-was bat tered into tin whistle at noon to. day by Dr. Sigmund Spaeth, noted musical lecturer. author and critic, at a meeting Of the Lions club at the Burritt
 Illustrating his remarks at the piano, he showed the self-evident pa ternity of many Of the popular tunes. First he played the classical papa of the tune. and then pumped the modern flaming youth out of the keyboard in the form of a jazzed tune.
 Thus the classic Song Of India" by Rimsky-korsakon, got jazzed into . typical modern lyric. The popular tuns "Maytime" was shown to bs snitched from . Chopin Noe turne-and only the first bar of 1t at that, constant repedtions higher and lower in the scale suffieing to manufacture the ''bis hit" Thus Q strain from the Merry Wives of Windsor" overture came in handy as the theme of the song "Marcheta," |" supposedly Mexican concoction: but this strain also appealed to lrv- ing Berlin and so he wrote "What1l I Do' based upon 1t, merely chang ing 2 little from major to minor; and the same strain also furnished the for trotters with Memory Lane"
 Romberg Good Borrower"
 Stgmund Romberg. whom Dr. Spaeth termed a good "borrower," wrote Blossom Time.' an operetta based on the life of Schubert and of course made the job complete by borrowing Schubert themes, doctor ing them up . h Tin Pan Alley 90 n to look like originals. The Song of Love" from the operetta was shown to be based on the Unfinished symphony. Romberg is still at it. &C., cordinE to the speaker. his new operetta. My Maryland" having as its most encored Init" 8 theme that M based on the song Maryland. My Maryland" Smiling Thru and Glory. Glory. Hallelujah." '"rhis is the piece that gets six or seven en- cores every night" said the speaker.
 Tho "classic example" of song purloining came last in the speak CTS list. He sAid he had to in- clude it in all his talks. Tho song has gone ell over the world. until people in Europe got the impression 1t is tho American national anthem. Tho piece was "Yes, We Have No Bananas"
 The Banana song was shown to open with a snatch from the Hal lelujah chorus" from Handers Messiah" 1t then reached . few bars of Bring Back My Bonnie te Me-" then T Dreamt I Dwelt 1T Marble Halls" from the Bohemian Girl" and then Aunt Dinah'i Quilting Party (also known af "seelng Dinah Home.D and wound up with a return to the Hallelujah chorus. Dr. Spaeth sang the whole "mess" with the original words oi the original songs and how the as. sembled Lions roared.
 Why Jaxz Scorea
 The common sense of music is that everybody responds to 1t ir some form. the speaker said. which most commonly is . matter of beat ing time. If there is discontinue by the educated musicians regard ins the prevalence of jazz 1t ts due to themselves. and not to the people as a whole. he added.
 "The highbrows are responsible Tor jazz. They have put music or such a high pedestal that you can'' ret 1t, There are three kinds oi listeners, feet listeners. heart listen ers, and head listeners. Nine-tenth' of the people are the former-and that is the beginning of an appre. ctation of music. Rhythm. to whicf the majority most easily responds. Il only the start Of music: melody and harm ony are built on top of 1t. consider melody the most important as that Is what Is remembered and what is applauded when recognized Frequently in Carnegie hall, when : b!g artist is giving a concert. he vii play | well known piece as an en- core, and the audience will immedi ately begin to applaud. They don applaud tho performer or the piece