![]() ![]() All his life Berlin composed solely on the black keys of the piano, or, as he called them, the "n****r keys." His defense of this musically illiterate method was telling: The "n****r keys are right there under your fingers." "N****r" music was somehow already his own. Berlin had learned ragtime from Johnson, then retooled it for mainstream consumption. Although Johnson disavowed authorship, the rumors were not altogether unfounded. A rumor persisted throughout the 1910s that a "little n****r boy" wrote his songs for him others credited black ragtime pianist Lukie Johnson, a performer at N****r Mike's. Some doubted he was altogether responsible for his musical ideas. ![]() There is similar information in a 1996 article in CommonQuest: The Magazine of Black- Jewish Relations: But it was not by force that black keys were played. The reference is referring to the 1910 time frame. So it seems that a concept of just playing the black keys did exist. From N****r Mike's to n****r keys, Berlin cast his lot with black music.Īlso see this video of Irving Berlin playing on only the black keys His use of these expressions, repugnant though they were, suggested his unconscious identification with untrained and intuitive black musicians. He called them "n****r keys," and the pianos he used, "n****r pianos," Both terms were standard Tin Pan Alley jargon. Like many self-taught musicians, he hit only the black keys, which were easier for his untrained hands to control. ![]() According to As Thousands Cheer: The Life of Irving Berlin: (with my censoring) ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |