"The Typewriter" is a short composition of light music by American composer Leroy Anderson, which features an actual typewriter as a percussion instrument.

Composition

Anderson completed "The Typewriter" on October 9, 1950 in Woodbury, Connecticut. "The Typewriter" received its first performance on September 8, 1953 during a recording Anderson and the Boston Pops Orchestra made in New York City for

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...

. Anderson composed the melody for

symphony A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning com ...

and

pops orchestra A pops orchestra is an orchestra that plays popular music (generally traditional pop) and show tunes as well as well-known classical works. Pops orchestras are generally organised in large cities and are distinct from the more "highbrow" symphony ...

s; William Zinn and Floyd Werle arranged it for

string orchestra A string orchestra is an orchestra consisting solely of a string section made up of the bowed strings used in Western Classical music. The instruments of such an orchestra are most often the following: the violin, which is divided into first ...

s and wind bands respectively. Rezeptionsglocke

Its name refers to the fact that its performance requires a typewriter, while using three basic typewriter sounds: the sound of typing, the "ring" of the carriage return indicating an approaching end-of-line (a standard desk bell is used for it), and the sound of the typewriter’s carriage returning. In some cases the sound of the typewriter’s carriage returning is made by a musical gourd,Evening at Pops with Leroy Anderson
transcript of episode of

Evening at Pops ''Evening at Pops'' is an American concert television series produced by WGBH-TV. It is one of the longest-running programs on PBS, airing from 1970 to 2004. The program was a public television version of a variety show, featuring performances by ...

broadcast in May 1972, at PBS, retrieved June 23, 2012 flute, string or other instrument. The typewriter was modified so that only two keys work to prevent the keys from jamming. According to the composer himself, as well as other musicians, the typewriter part is difficult because of how fast the typing speed is: even professional stenographers cannot do it, and only professional

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one mem ...

s have the necessary wrist flexibility.Leroy Anderson: Master of the Miniature
at National Public Radio, by Pat Dowell, published June 27, 2008, retrieved June 23, 2012 It has been called one of "the wittiest and most clever pieces in the orchestral repertoire". Author Steve Metcalf has written that "Despite the almost total disappearance of typewriters in everyday life, the statistics show that "The Typewriter" is still a favorite Anderson item." The typewriter is considered a percussion instrument, and the typewriter part is usually performed by a percussionist or drummer, or rarely by the conductor.New Year with
Vladimir Spivakov // Russia-K, December 31, 2012

In popular culture

The piece was featured in the

Jerry Lewis Jerry Lewis (born Joseph Levitch; March 16, 1926 – August 20, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, singer, filmmaker and humanitarian. As his contributions to comedy and charity made him a global figure in popular culture, pop culture ...

film ''

Who's Minding the Store ''Who's Minding the Store?'' is a 1963 American comedy film directed by Frank Tashlin and starring Jerry Lewis, Jill St. John, Agnes Moorehead, Ray Walston, Kathleen Freeman, and John McGiver. It was released on November 28, 1963, by Paramount P ...

'' (1963) and in the musical montage that opens Lewis' 1980 film ''

Hardly Working ''Hardly Working'' is a 1980 American comedy film directed by, co-written by and starring Jerry Lewis and Susan Oliver, filmed in 1979, released in Europe in 1980 and then in the United States on April 3, 1981 through 20th Century Fox. This film ...

'', although his first recorded performance was on a January 1954 episode of The Colgate Comedy Hour. The Radio 4 satirical programme '' The News Quiz'' has adopted the tune as its theme song (though, oddly, in an arrangement not featuring a typewriter).

References

External links

The Typewriter
played by Spanish percussionist Alfredo Anaya and

Hamburg Symphony Orchestra The Symphoniker Hamburg (''Hamburg Symphony Orchestra'') is a German orchestra based in Hamburg, Germany. Founded in 1957, it is one of the city's three largest orchestras. The Hamburg Symphony Orchestra is the orchestra in residence in the Laei ...

directed by

Miguel Roa Miguel Roa (Madrid, 1944 – Illescas, 2016) was a Spanish conductor. He was particularly associated with the zarzuela, and joined the Teatro de la Zarzuela in 1978, becoming director in 1985. Selected discography * Tomás Bretón: ''Andalusian S ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Typewriter, The Music and humour Compositions by Leroy Anderson 1950 compositions 1953 in music Typewriters