Music Trade Review

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THE
MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
MAKING THE PLAYER PIANO SMALLER.
A New Feature of the Manufacturing End That Has Followed the Acceptance of the Instru-
ments as a Permanent Proposition—Cutting Down the Size of the Player Mechanism—
The Problem of the Tracker-Box—Dealers Echoing Demands of the Public for Less Bulky
Forms of Players—Another Review Prediction—Anent Player Progress.
Happily for all of us, we have passed the stage
in the player business where we need any longer
worry about permanency. That the player-piano
has come to stay, that it is firmly fixed in public
estimation and that its second or developmental
stage is at hand are facts well proven by the actual
commercial conditions of the industry. Nothing
could be more astonishing to one who knew the
piano business of a few years ago than to observe
to-day the preponderance of player over straight
piano advertising in the retail trade.
And with this growing recognition by the public
of the player's place and meaning there is also
coming about a more critical attitude towards cer-
tain physical and constructional features that
hitherto have passed unchallenged. The first
player-pianos were such novelties, so wonderful
and amazing, that their physical clumsiness was un-
noticed. The wonderful thing was that they could
exist at all, in any sort of shape. Refinement in
appearance and architecture was neither expected
ifor required. But a change has come.
Little by little the external size of player-pianos
has been reduced, as the mechanism itself has prog-
ressively improved. Little by little the unnatural
appearance of the older models has been toned
down. We are well on the way towards the final
triumph ; the small player-piano.
Now, all of what has been said here relates to
small player-pianos on the supposition that such
instruments are in demand, or soon will be. It
might be pertinent to ask whether this demand i.s
really legitimate. And the only answer that can
be made to this is that if there were no demand for
a small player-piano then we should be running
contrary to all previous experience. The plain fact
is—or, at least, the probabilities are very strong—
that more player-pianos would be sold in the cities
anyway if they were smaller, more graceful and
less bulky all around. That is a natural and logi-
cal thing.
The Dealer Knows What the Public Demands.
The man who knows most about these things in
the end is the dealer. He has the job of selling
to the public. It is up to him to provide in his
store goods which the public will buy. If he fails
to satisfy the natural public demand his business
will suffer. And of all people the dealer is the
one man who knows with some certainty what the
public demand actually is. To the dealer, then, the
editor of the Player Section has gone, and what is
here set down is really a compound of the various
opinions which large dealers have expressed to him
on this very subject.
By all means let us have smaller player-pianos.
The whole matter is simply one of common sense
Demands of t h e . Modern City Household.
The public wants them and therefore the dealer
The day, in fact, must come when the player- wants them also. And, therefore, again, the manu-
piano can be made up in case models as small as facturer must supply them.
those now used for the tiniest uprights. Whatever
For a long time past—in fact, ever since the
may be the demand in country districts, the de- player-piano became an object of sale—we have
mands of the modern city household, with its been content to take what came to us simply be-
small apartments, are all for economy of space. A cause there was nothing else to do. The industry
large piano looks, and is, distinctly out of place in was in a formative state. It was not worked out
a small room. City people want small pianos and to anything like standard qualities or design. But
they get them. They are now beginning to think that has passed. And for the sake of everyone
of small player-pianos and their demand must be concerned the day of the small, graceful, refined
fulfilled.
player-piano should be hastened.
The successful small player-piano must be, above
The dealer is the man to bring this about. Deal-
all, as good looking as its sister of the ordinary ers all over the country can and should bring pres-
kind. It must have clean lines, good architecture sure to bear on the manufacturers of pianos for
and gracefulness. Any humpiness or camel-like ap- the production of player-piano cases more in ac-
pearance would be fatal, since a small instrument cordance with public taste and demand. And the
exaggerates such defects in design. It naturally manufacturers of pianos who do not manufacture
follows that the part of the instrument which leads their own player actions should get busy with the
to such defects must be refined in turn, so that player men and insist on the same thing. The day
it may be contained within the small case neatly must finally come when it will be impossible to
and gracefully.
tell a player-piano from an ordinary instrument
There is no doubt that such refinement in the until it is opened for pneumatic playing. We
mechanism is rapidly coming about. For one should all do our best to hasten the coming of that
thing, one may mention that the success of the day.
single valve system is now no longer doubtful, at
For, after all, this is right in line with good
least as something for the immediate future. For business policy, good sense and good mechanical
some years this paper has predicted that the single notions. Refinement generally means simplicity.
valve action would finally win out. In the annual
And people very seldom increase the size and bulk
survey of player conditions during 1911, published of a thing when making it more simple. Simplicity
in the Player Section for December, this prediction generally means small and compact design. And
was referred to and its rapid fulfillment noted. so we may properly say that the public demand for
Cutting Down Size of Pneumatics and Bellows. a small player-piano is equivalent to a demand for
For similar reasons we may haii with pleasure a more refined instrument. And that, without a
the evident tendency on the part of player manu- doubt, is something as to the necessity for which
facturers to cut down the size of their pneumatics we are all in solemn agreement and harmony.
and bellows sets. It is coming to be seen that the
The Review on the Firing Line.
amount of power possible of development is less
It has ever been the policy of The Review to get
important than the economy of use in what is de- on the firing line. The way to do things is to find
veloped. We have been producing an immense out, before the other man does, what is going to
amount of what might be called "raw" power, and happen. In every thing that it has advocated with
then losing a lot of it through leakage or un- regard to the player trade this paper has been
economical design. This fact, happily, is now ahead of the times. We first saw the-possibilities
being recognized and steps are being taken to of the player and first devoted special departments
remedy the causes.
to its treatment. We first saw the trend of things
One point in construction that has always stood mechanical along the lines which they are follow-
in the way of producing really graceful player- ing to-day. We first put forth technical player
piano cases has been the position of the tracker literature. In all of these activities The Review
box. When this is placed directly in front of the was ahead of current thought and practice. But
piano action it occupies so much room that the in all of them its predictions have proved to be
piano case must be increased in depth. This in correct. So in the present case: It is our sincere
itself makes an ungraceful case. It is rather sur- belief that the next great movement in the player
prising that more manufacturers have not placed trade will be towards a smaller player-piano. And
the tracker box either above the hammers or else we feel it to be but our duty to bring this matter
underneath the keyboard.
before the attention of t^Qse to whose immediate
and vital interest it is to see that the progress of
the player industry proceeds along lines well
thought out and correctly understood, to the end
that all may benefit and that the place of our in-
dustry may be more than ever firmly founded in
the affections and interest of all the people. To
such a policy this paper is fully committed. So
long as there is a player trade we shall be at the
forefront setting down what we believe to be the
facts and from them drawing such conclusions as
seem to be warranted.
If from time to time these conclusions appear
far-fetched we are content to ask our readers to
wait awhile. Our record of fulfilled predictions is
very high.
THE MUSIC ROLL PROBLEM AGAIN.
Player-Piano Owner Compares Service in Con-
nection with the Supplying of Records for
Talking Machines with That for Supplying
Player Music Rolls, to the Disadvantage of
the Latter—Retail Houses Dissatisfied with
Present Handling and Distributing Methods.
(Special to The Review.)
St. Louis, Mo., March 26, 1912.
Before The Review printed in the Player Sec-
tion recently an article on the rather crude
methods prevalent in regard to the sale of player
music, the St. Louis correspondent of The Review
had asked several piano men to answer a question
that had been put to him by the owner of a player-
piano and a talking machine. The question was
about like this:
"Why is it that I can go into any one of a half-
dozen stores and buy records, with -or without
demonstration, and go my way, but I cannot do
the same with a player roll? The records arc on
street floors and handy of access, but the rolls are
upstairs, and it seems to be an especial favor when
I am taken to them. Also, why do player men
give twenty rolls with a piano and the talking ma-
chine concerns none?"
One piano man listened to the question and an-
swered: "Just this: The talking machine men
started right, the piano men started wrong. 1
cannot see the end."
Some declined to answer the question, others said
the situation was too involved. One dealer said
that he had been studying this thing for a long
time and believed he had the answer, but that when
he was sure that he had he would put it into prac-
tice and let his rivals guess it.
"'There is business for one or two to do it on
that basis," said a talking machine man in speak-
ing of player rolls, "and I believe that the man
who first puts his rolls up for sale like sheet music
or talking machine records is going to be a win-
ner. Advertise special music for special occasions,
sell a man anything he likes if he has the money
and mark it non-exchange. Also have a circulat-
ing library and demonstration parlors on terms
that seem to meet the expense. It looks like a big
field to me, and 1 would be willing to try it if I
was in the position to do so."
"Every piano house in town is dissatisfied," said
a dealer, "with roll merchandising as it is. A
proposition was made to have a central depot and
the piano houses to keep out of the trade, but that
did not meet approval. I confess I do not know
where we are going to get off."
St. Louis houses each have an individual plan.
The general idea is to give $"20 worth or perhaps
twenty rolls with the instrument. Some houses
give a membership to a circulating library. Others
sell a membership for $2 a year or for a larger
sum. Some charge a cent a day for music while
it is out, others 10 cents or higher for exchange.
No two operate exactly alike.
One disgusted piano man, who controls an im-
portant music roll department, ventured the opin-
ion that the roll manufacturers would eventually
establish their own depots in each city of consid-
erable size and solve the entire problem. It is
very possible that some such action may become
necessary in the near future.
The Aeolian Co. has become a member of the
Merchants' Association of New York,