I made a free Tin Pan Alley book

timothypfox

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I've been working on this fantastic book (https://drive.google.com/open?id=10Lh0U09tFlyya5wVp3O-5Ry5IYaeQn3J) for quite some time, and at the same time I'm not the best record keeper.

I've made arrangements off of arrangements and off of original scores and some off of recordings, and clipped pictures off the internet. So the book is beautiful and includes one or two essays I wrote, but without lots of lawyers, at best I can claim is sharing the book for educational and personal enjoyment under "fair use" law.

That said, please share feedback and criticism, and requests for revision or removal of a particular tab. I did my best to make each tab something new and unique. The book will only be shared as a PDF on forums and on one or two Facebook ukulele sites.
 
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I love all the images you have in the guide! I look forward to going through this - thank you.
 
I love all the images you have in the guide! I look forward to going through this - thank you.

I'm glad you like it! A few of the tunes are a little rare, but if you're not sure of the vocals or timing you can find the version I list with the artist on Youtube.
 
Many thanks for making this available to others - it looks like it took you a lot of work.

Only had a quick glance through it just now, but it is obviously going to be interesting to read all those old adverts too, from before I was born. :)
 
Thank you! What fun. May I share it with my uke group?
 
Timothy:

I applaud you for the effort you put into creating this. You must have poured many hours into this project. It's wonderful. You did a fantastic job, and love the graphics too. Just one comment. I noticed you threw in some songs from the 60's, so I am not sure if they would fit the definition of Tin Pan Alley. Doesn't Tin Pan Alley mean songs from the 20's and 30's era?

Luke
 
That's a wonderfull job you did and thank you very much for sharing.
 
Of course Ziret! Please feel free to share the book with your uke group. Just note through that Country Roads was written by John Denver and not Bob Denver as I put in the book. It's a mistake I will later correct.

Luke, glad you like the book. The versions of the 1960s and a couple more modern songs songs are jazzed or at least slightly jazzed up as a nod to the jazz era. Not strictly 1920s or 1930s, but wanted to put a few songs in there people may recognize. There is one David Bowie (Dead Man Walking) song I simply didn't know how to Jazz up so I stuck it in there just because I like it. I sort of apologize for this in the book's intro... Ha ha
 
Ha, Gilligan wrote Country Roads.

I don't think this should be in Shameless Self Promotion. It's Selfless Self Promotion. It should be in the songs portion, whatever that's called.
 
This is fantastic! Thank you so much for your generosity. You must have poured in hours and hours of work into this gem. I love the graphics, they make the book so much more interesting.
 
Thanks for creating and sharing this.

I just grabbed it and will be going through and will report with feedback (if any) later, once I've had a chance to dig in.

:)
 
Your welcome Lapyang!

Thanks Booli. If you do end up having any feedback, I’d love to hear it. I haven’t had anyone proof read or test out the songs or book as a whole other than me.
 
Wow! You put a lot of time and effort into making this book. Scrolling thru the pages takes you back to the days when you could pick up a catalogue and order a ukulele for $1.25.

Thank you.
 
Tim, thank you for all your hard work. I look forward to playing through it and investigating some new voicings and different arrangements. One criticism (as someone else pointed out), the editor in me wants to recommend that the book be condensed to just Tin Pan Alley songs. It will be more cohesive and impactful. While there are some very nice newer songs, I would save them for another book. They distract from from the cool theme you have going on and jar with the text and graphics. I would go no further than the 40s, for sure. Music takes a whole different turn in the 50s and again in the 60s. Something for another project.
 
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