ABSTRACT
As late as 1880 or 1890, a person growing up in a middle-class U.S. household had no recorded music in the home in the sense that we understand it today. That’s not to say that homes didn’t have music. For one thing, family members often played musical instruments. Pianos were especially popular in middleclass homes. Many family members learned to play, and there was a vigorous and growing industry that published sheet music and sold it in music stores around the country.
