Originally Posted by Doghouse Riley:
“Exactly, but any tune above an octave and a half, won't likely be a "ballroom dance tune" if there are lyrics to it.
For those unaware, as I've posted this information before...
Historically, popular music was sold in sheet music form as at one time there were more pianos in homes than radios, and for decades sheet music outsold records.
The charts were based on sheet music sales until 1952.
So there was no point in writing a popular tune outside those parameters, that purchasers would buy, play and "sing round a piano," as an octave and a half is the limit of the average person's vocal range. Otherwise, they wouldn't buy it.
All the classic tunes used for dance from the best loved musicals fit this format. This tradition has carried on since.
Any song sung by Frank Sinatra demonstrates this fact very well. It's not until we got to the age of digital enhancement, (apart from a few "vocal athletes") was there any significant change.”
“Exactly, but any tune above an octave and a half, won't likely be a "ballroom dance tune" if there are lyrics to it.
For those unaware, as I've posted this information before...
Historically, popular music was sold in sheet music form as at one time there were more pianos in homes than radios, and for decades sheet music outsold records.
The charts were based on sheet music sales until 1952.
So there was no point in writing a popular tune outside those parameters, that purchasers would buy, play and "sing round a piano," as an octave and a half is the limit of the average person's vocal range. Otherwise, they wouldn't buy it.
All the classic tunes used for dance from the best loved musicals fit this format. This tradition has carried on since.
Any song sung by Frank Sinatra demonstrates this fact very well. It's not until we got to the age of digital enhancement, (apart from a few "vocal athletes") was there any significant change.”
But crooner songs like Nat King Cole's are often within or one or two notes above an octave. It's very easy to sing them. Part of the reason why The Sound of Music was so popular was that most of the songs written for the musical fell within the octave range. Edelweiss is a clear example.




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