Women at the Pedals
Women at the Pedals
Female Cinema Musicians during the Great War
Women played many musical roles in the film industry. They accompanied silent films at the organ with existing repertoire, made new compositions of incidental music and songs, and improvised accompaniments at the keyboard; they constructed and disseminated cue sheets and educated their fellow musicians and the public in trade journals and newspapers; and they were inventors: Alice Smythe Jay created a mechanism to synchronize piano rolls with films, while Carrie Hetherington invented and promoted the Fotoplayer. In World War I, with men serving abroad, women were increasingly vital to the industry, advancing the cause of professional women throughout the music industry.
Keywords: World War I, film industry, silent films, silent film music, organ, musical accompanists, composers, musical improvisation, cue sheets, women inventors, piano rolls
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