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THE
MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
PLAYER-PIANO TRADE FOR THE PAST TWELVE MONTHS.
Trade and Public Now Realize That the Player Is a Mighty Big Thing—A Careful Survey of
the Situation Leading Up to Its Present Position—Marvellous Improvement Has Come
About in the Durability and Reliability of Player Construction and In the Improvement
in Music Roll and Roll Making—Progress Is Inevitable, for Inventors Are Always Busy.
Twelve months have passed since last the piano
ment the grand player-piano will cease entirely to
trade met in convention. The Chicago gathering
suffer any kind of case alteration; a present, but
last June emphasized the importance and signifi- temporary, disadvantage that will be overcome as
cance of the player in a manner never before pos-
it has already been conquered everywhere in the
sible. The fact that a large and representative
upright.
exhibit of pianos and player-pianos was held under
The great improvement that has come about in
the most favorable conditions, in a large and com- the durability and reliability of player construction
modious building, and with every advantage in the is also to be considered a source of unmixed satis-
way of location, tended to draw the attention of
faction. It is a great blessing that we can now defi-
all the trade toward Chicago and the wonderful nitely foresee the day when player troubles will
showing there made. It was a great week for the almost cease to exist and construction be so thor-
player-piano. And justly so. For that instrument oughly standardized that all will know it, and all
then impressed itself upon the minds of thousands; be competent to take care of it properly.
as it never had before.
Along this same line one observes also the very
Lasi year, then, we may say that the public and great advance being made in the conception which
the trade waked up suddenly to a realization of
player action manufacturers have of their relations
the fact that the player is a mighty big thing, to the pianomaker and to the dealer. Instead of
worthy of utmost admiration and enthusiasm. .being content to make player actions and leave
Things were seen which before had not been
others to sell them to the public, manufacturers now
dreamed of. Possibilities were discerned such as realize that upon them is a large part of the respon-
had never been thought of even as possibilities. sibility for popularizing the pneumatic player. As
The player-piano assumed immense importance for
a result we find that booklets of instruction, tech-
the first time in its career.
nical treatises and all sorts of informative litera-
What has been done since? What advantage has ture are being put forth by manufacturers for the
been taken of the successful debut made last June? dual purpose of obtaining the sincere interest and
What has the past year done for the player trade attention of the public and of acquainting the tuner
and what predictions can be made for the future? and repairman throughout the country with the
principles and practise of player mechanism. It
These are interesting questions. And they cannot
be answered by anybody as well as by The Review. might be pointed out in this regard that here, too,
And here we might pause a moment to point out The Review blazed the trail. It was this newspaper
that The Review is peculiarly well placed for the which produced in the early commercial days of
purpose of making an accurate and adequate sur- the player a technical treatise on player mechanism
which has since become a standard throughout the
vey of the player trade; better placed, in fact, than
any other trade newspaper institution could pos- world. Those were days when foresight of a
sibly be. For The Review stands alone as an au- prophetic kind was needed to determine whether
thority on all player matters. The time, the space the future of the player was certain or not. Such
and the labor devoted in this newspaper to the foresight The Review then showed. How well it
has been justified all know to-day.
setting forth of adequate and accurate opinion and
information on the player in all its phases are
Moreover, the general means of publicity which
greater than with all The Review's rivals put to- manufacturers and dealers are using have been
gether. Our claim to speak with authority is there- immensely improved during the last year. Until
fore allowable, and, in fact, we find ourselves in
recently the standard of general player advertising
the position of being expected to do things of
was deplorably low. It is a pleasure to reflect that
this sort.
the constant fight carried on in this Player Section
In the first place, then, let us record the final for better, saner, more logical advertising has been
so amply rewarded.
passing of the 65-note scale. Its departure may be
Pleasant as these reflections are, they are no more
viewed with regret, but with a regret tempered by
pleasant than the further reflection that the piano
some satisfaction. It was born in compromise and
has died in neglect? In many ways there were and player trade have at last waked up to the fact
advantages, and not small ones at that, in the that the pneumatic playing mechanism is a serious
65-note scale. The rolls tracked easily, and they and important proposition. We see on all sides
indications of this fact. What can be more signifi-
were easy to read. The pin flange had its good
points, too. But these were physical advantages cant than the vast technical improvement which one
only. Musically speaking, there was little to be sees everywhere? It is true that there are still
manufacturers who seem to have but little under-
said in favor of a scale that required the reduction
or compression of even one piece of music. Al- standing of the real problems involved in the mak-
ing of mechanisms for piano playing. There a:e
though other than purely musical considerations
determined the course of the trade in consigning still manufacturers who prefer to rely upon con-
structions of doubtful value. But this state of
the 65-note scale to oblivion, there is no doubt that
affairs is rapidly passing away in the light of better
this course was wise and in every way admirable.
Secondly, one observes, with unmixed pleasure, knowledge. We are getting to understand—all of
us—that piano playing mechanisms are made to
the rapid growth in development of the grand
pkiy the piano, and that some knowledge of what
player-piano. This instrument is but the logical
piano playing means is requisite if we are to pro-
sequence of the upright fitted with pneumatic play-
ing action. It was bound to come. Naturally, it duce adequate mechanisms for this purpose. The
proposition is elementary, but that has not pre-
will never equal the upright in magnitude of pro-
vented its being misunderstood and even unrecog-
duction. But, just as the development of the player
upright has forced the parallel development of ar- nized for a long time. We should, however, be
content that the truth has been seen so quickly.
tistic pneumatic piano playing, so the development
of the latter art has forced the production of an
And what of the future? It is plain that the
instrument especially fitted for manifesting the course of Progress, once laid out, cannot be de-
highest possibilities of pneumatic interpretation if
flected. We must go on along those lines which
one may use the term. The grand player-piano,
have been cut out for us by the force of circum-
of course, is not yet entirely perfected. Moreover,
stances. The destiny of the player-piano can be
there are certain points of patent rights and of read with greatest plainness. No one but the pur-
litigation that are not yet settled. Still, the time blind, the deliberately misanthropic, or the inter-
must come when this instrument will have taken
estedly prejudiced, can fail to perceive that the
its proper place in the pneumatic hierarchy (or
future of the player is forever settled. It is to be
perhaps some of our disgruntled old-fashioned mu-
the ruling spirit in the future world of music.
sicians would rather say "heresiarchy"). And the
There is nothing to be doubted, nothing to be
present year will be marked in history as the period
questioned. The facts speak for 'hemselves.
pf, large development.
But there is very much of a question as to how
rapidly or how slowly the developments we have
It is also to be supposed that with coming refine-
already noticed are to proceed. We can do a great
deal to help them along, or a great deal to retard
their progress. Which we shall do is a matter to
be determined by ourselves and by no one else. One
thing is certain. The past course of the player
industry shows that every step in advance which
has been taken, everything which has been done
in the way of mechanical, commercial or artistic
development has been done in the face of an almost
unanimous opposition from the trade itself. Just
why the piano trade should continually stand in its
own light, and block the way toward its own
future advantage is a question which we are not
competent to answer. In this respect it is probably
no worse than any other body of men and women
in this world.
But what has been done in the past should no
longer be continued; in fact, need not at all be
continued. We need no longer be doubtful, no
longer need be afraid. We can surely now face the
future with confidence and joy. But we must also
remember that it is our duty, if indeed we are to
assist the progress of our cause, to take our propo-
sition seriously, to study it attentively, to make the
persuasion of the public to our side a continual
labor and duty, to bend all our energies to an un-
de.'itanding of what piano playing is, to the end
that our mechanical progress may be directed along
the right lines. All these things may be done easily
enough during the next year. If they be done
wisely, patiently, bravely, then The Review's annual
survey of the player situation, as published in May,
1913, will be even brighter than it is this year.
For it cannot be denied that, in effect, we have
much for which to be thankful. Politicians may
rage together and the bosses imagine a vain thing,
but the course of a proposition like ours cannot
be stopped. We have laid hold of something that
has already become a necessity. It must continue to
gain the confidence and the adherence of the public,
in greater and greater degree. If it fail in this
we shall have none but ourselves to blame.
But if what has been accomplished in the past
year—the abandonment of he 65-note compromise,
the development of the grand piaycr-piano, the
improvement in rolls and roll making and the bet-
ter recognition of the need for saner methods of
public exploitation—be imitated during the next
twelve months with no more enthusiasm even than
has been exhibited in connection with them during
the period under survey the next year will give us
no reason to feel discouraged when it draws to a
close.
GULBRANSEN=DICKINSON EXHIBIT.
Mechanism Installed in Everett Piano Shown
in White and Gold Room of the Waldorf—
Manufacturers and Dealers Invited to Attend.
Commencing yesterday, there was placed on ex-
hibition in the White and Gold Room of the Wal-
dorf-Astoria, New York, a Gulbransen-Dickinson
player-piano, which is manufactured by the Gulbran-
sen-Dickinson Co., Chicago. This instrument, how-
ever, is the product of the New York factory,
which is located at 442 West 42d street. This
mechanism is installed in an Everett upright piano.
The piano was chosen after a great deal of fore-
thought on the part of the executive heads of the
company, as it is their desire to give the trade an
accurate idea of the possibilites of the Gulbran-
sen-Dickinson player mechanism when installed in
one of the high grade pianos of the world.
All dealers and manufacturers who have at-
tended conventions in Atlantic City, as well as
many others, have been invited to hear this in-
strument, and D. K. Dickinson has come to New
York to supervise the demonstration, which will
last until May 30.
NOW SMITH & KIDD.
Smith & Kidd have succeeded the firm of Smith
& Darrin, manufacturers of piano-player supplies
and music tracker suction pumps. A new location
has been secured by this company at 329-335 Ply-
mouth Court, Chicago, Tl 1 ., where they have grenter
facilities for attending to the needs of the player-
piano trade,