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THE MUSIC TRADE KEVIEW.
K. F.
62694
40,000 MARKS
10,000
—.
©.DOLLARS
How to Get a Song Published.
ITH the great increase in the number
of musical institutions and of facili-
ties for obtaining a sound musical educa-
tion, there has naturally been a consider-
able increase in the number of amateur
composers. Now many beginners in the
art of composition are, of course, desirous
of having their works published, but ex-
perience no small difficulty in attaining
this end. A few hints of a practical nature
may therefore be useful, especially as ig-
norance of the proper methods of going to
work is often prejudicial to the young com-
poser who is anxious to see his name figur-
ing in a publisher's catalogue. In the first
place, when a young musician finds difficulty
in disposing of a song after having submit-
ted it to many publishing houses, he should
not jump to the conclusion that there is a
conspiracy among the publishers to pre-
vent his light from shining before an ad-
miring world. As a matter of fact, pub-
lishers are only too glad to secure anything
that is good, for the obvious reason that a
good song will sell, whether it be written
by a known composer or by an aspirant for
honors in the field of music.
And again, in submitting a song the
budding composer should refrain from in-
forming the publisher at great length
that "my friends like this song very much,
and say it really ought to be published."
This is frequently done by beginners, and
especially by those whose compositions are
of no value, consequently it is rather calcu-
lated to prejudice a publisher against the
writer than to evoke his enthusiasm.
An important point for the young com-
poser is to see that her manuscript is legibly
written. In the field of literature it is a
well-known fact that type-written MSS.
secure a better chance of acceptance than
those which are written in the ordinary
W
way. There is a moral here for composers,
though of course as yet we have no type-
writer which will mark musical notes.
Publishers have no time to waste over
illegible manuscripts, and that such manu-
scripts are frequently submitted is notori-
ous; out of the hundreds of MSS re-
ceived every month from amateurs, only a
small proportion are written in a really
legible form.
Another important point is that there
should be no technical irregularities in
the composition. In order to avoid any-
thing of this kind the beginner should,
wherever practicable, submit his manu-
script to a professional musician before
sending it to a publisher. This may save
a lot of heart-burning, for a song which
may really have the elements of success in
it may fail to secure favorable considera-
tion owing to the presence of technical
errors; while on the one hand mistakes of a
technical character should be carefully
avoided, on the other the composer must
take care not to be pedantic. It should be
his object to write melodiously, to produce
a tune that catches the ear and yet is not
common-place.
A hint as to lyrics may be useful
here. If the words selected for setting
are not original, the young composer
should ascertain whether they have been
set successfully by someone else. It is not
unusual far an unknown writer to submit a
new setting of a lyric which has already
been set to a famous tune, and, of course,
in such a case the publisher promptly re-
turns the MS. It is no use to attempt to
put on the music market a new setting of
"The Lost Chord" or "The Better Land,"
though some embryo composers are quite
ready to essay the task. Indeed, some
time back a London piiblisher was offered
a new setting of "God Save the Queen," by
an enthusiast who fondly imagined that
the traditional tune would give way to that
of his own creation.
A great deal of trouble may be saved to
the aspirant if he uses some discrimination
in submitting his finished MS. It is use-
less to forward a joke to the editor of the
Quarterly Review, or a learned disquisition
on some abstruse question to Punch. In
the same way in music Messrs. Novello &
Co. have no use for a comic song, nor are
Messrs. Francis & Day open to consider a
Christmas carol or an anthem.
If the young composer is in doubt as to
the class of piece that suits particular
publishers, the simplest course to adopt is
to obtain their catalogues, when he will be
able to form an opinion on the point.
Time, postage stamps, and annoyance will
be saved by giving due consideration to
this matter.
Finally, the aspirant should not be dis-
couraged if a first attempt fails to command
success. How many successful composers
are there to-day who would care to submit
their first efforts to the world except as
curiosities? Work and perseverance are
essential to success in the field of music,
and with these, combined with natural
talent, great things may be achieved. Of
course it is only the few that attain high
rank as composers, but never were there
greater opportunities than there are tc-day,
seeing that the demand for music is greater
than it ever was before. And there are
many indications that this demand will in-
crease rather than diminish.
New Year's Pointers.
T is well to advertise and to advertise well.
Ads build business that are properly
constructed themselves.
The truth of .the biblical saying, "Seek
and you shall find," is exemplified in ad-
vertising.
Merit alone will not produce a sale for
an article; it takes publicity. If you have
a good thing, tell the people about it.
An ad that rings with the good qualities
of an article has for its echo the ring of the
dollar.
It takes only one hundred cents to make
a dollar, yet few people have the sense to
make one. Those who have, advertise.
Some houses succeed better than others,
not because of their better goods, but be-
cause they are advertisers.
You possess a feeling that you have the
ability to make a million. Unless you
imbue the public with this idea of your
greatness it will avail you nothing.
Do you know what advertising is? It is
letting other people know that you are in
business and want their patronage. The
more forcibly you impress this fact upon
their minds, the greater the result. —Lawyer
and Credit-Man.
I
WE are in receipt of a very kind invita-
tion to attend the second annual masque-
rade to be given by the Colby piano makers,
at the Maennerchor Hall, Erie, Pa., on the
evening of Jan. 2 2d.