While musicals were growing in popularity, the intricacies required of a musical piece were beyond the purview of many solo writers. Songwriters often had to enact the help of skilled pianists to transcribe the melodies they hummed in their heads. Songs of that time were often composed and/or transposed to match performer style and vocal range. Theater at that time was going through a particularly conservative stint, as Depression economics cut down on the 1920s’ experimentation.
The Rodgers and Hammerstein Way
Rodgers and Hammerstein advanced the new method of creating music to fit the words, not the other way around. This placed increasing importance on the content of shows, resulting in simpler melodies that showcased the duo’s creativity through simplicity. They wanted melodies to be catchy so that people would buy their sheet music. Rodgers, too, loved dissonant harmonies, slipping out of the conventional waltz and other generic patterns within his songs. The content of their most popular shows unapologetically departed from the comic/sentimental tone of the early 20th century by addressing issues of racism, sexism, and classism.
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