played or was playing

[FW]

1-When I went there music played in the background.
2-When I went there music was playing in the background.

Could one use 1 instead of 2?
I know that normally there is a difference between the two tenses.
When I went there he was writing the letter.
doens't mean the same as:
When I went there he wrote the letter.
but I wonder if in some cases one can't replace the progressive tense by the simple tense.
3-When I went there a big mirror stood in the cormer of the room.
I am not even tsure that in this case one could use:
4-When I went there a big mirror was standing in the corner of the room.

 

[RonBee]

1-When I went there music played in the background.
2-When I went there music was playing in the background.

I would use the second one but not the first one. (Music doesn't play itself.)

"When I went there a big mirror stood in the cormer of the room" suggests that a mirror was doing something mirrors don't do (stand). "When I went there a big mirror was standing in the corner of the room" has the same problem as the previous sentence. However, "When I went there, standing in the corner of the room was a big mirror" puts the mirror in its proper place.

 

[Tdol]

The second makes more sense- the first could be used for a repeated action. The past continuous (progressive) is often used to describe the background to past events- it sets the scene or paints the picture rather than describes the events. ;-)