Old, Popular Sheet Music (Pre-1950)

[alzado]

I have been purchasing used sheet music at estate sales and antique shops.  I have quite a nice collection to include--

Over the Rainbow
Night and Day
As Time Goes By
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes
Stardust
So Rare

And of course, many others. To include some musical selections from composers such as Rogers & Hammerstein.   I do enjoy playing these, and my piano teacher likes many of them very much.  My cats also enjoy these selections.

Such pieces are usually not highly difficult, since I'm sure the publishers did not want to scare off the amateurs who used to seek out this music.

And then, on the other hand, they are not elementary by any means. 

They offer a lot of interpretive possibilities.

I also play classical, but I need a change of pace at times.  And these melodies are often familiar to me, since I am a senior citizen.

Does anyone else like this sort of music?  (Presumably, the older generation?)

[ted]

My father collected a very large heap of popular sheet music, which I have kept in a cabinet about the size of a small wardrobe. Most of it dates from the 1920s to the 1950s. I rarely use it because most of the material occurs in fake books and because most of the scores are almost as new and I do not want to crease or otherwise damage them.

As far as the music itself is concerned, yes, I am rather fond of some of it, I think because I frequently heard my father play these tunes when I was a child.   

[clef]

maybe you'd enjoy playing a few ragtime pieces?

Maple Leaf Rag is at an early advanced level, not too dificult but not intermediate or beginner material.  black and white rag is also quite fun...

[landru]

I love playing the standards, however I don't have the original sheet music. I have a fake book (or more accurately a "real" book) that has the chord symbols and melodies for the songs. What I love about these songs (and certainly the ones you mention) is that they have complex melodies and harmonies - musically they are such a treat to interpret.

And I don't know if I'm older generation (44), but I think some of the popular songs from 1900-1950 are one of our culture's significant achievements - if not only for that they served as a fertile jumping off ground for that little art form called jazz  .