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THE
A NOTED PLAYER INVENTOR.
What Melville Clark Has Accomplished in the
Line of Player-Piano Development—His In-
troduction of the 88-Note Player a Decade
Ago and the Advances Made Since Then—
The Distinctive and Valuable Features of the
Solo Apollo—Mr. Clark's Latest Invention,
the Recording Mechanism, Adds to Fame.
MUSIC TRADE
13
REVIEW
vice the Recording Mechanism; a simple designa-
tion for a marvelous affair. By its use he can se-
cure what may be called a temperamental photo-
graph of every great performer on the piano. It
will reproduce the tempo of the pianist, his style, his
pedaling, the power of his stroke on the keys and
the sensuous element—the expression—in so ac-
curate a way that the mechanism seems to be en-
dowed with a human intelligence.
SEEBURG
(Special to The Review.)
Chicago, 111., Feb. 19, 1912.
In considering the great strides made in the de-
velopment of the player-piano and its steadily in-
creasing popularity, it is worth noting that it was
only a trifle of a decade ago, in 1901, to be exact,
that Melville Clark, whose work in connection
with the improvements made in that instrument is
so widely recognized, made the first eighty-eight
note player in Chicago.
The success of this new full range player-piano
was immediate, for the player that would strike
every note on the keyboard of a piano was a
MELVILLE CLARK.
FEATURING_THE ANGELUS.
The Virtues of the Melodant Strongly Em-
phasized in the Advertising of John Wana-
maker in the New York Papers—Advertising
Copy That Gets Somewhere—The Personal
Element Also Introduced.
Attractively arranged within an artistic border
the following text formed the basis of a two-
column advertisement in the New York papers on
Tuesday above the name of John Wanamaker, New
York :
"Let Us Tell You an Angelus Secret!
"Perhaps nothing has done so much to emanci-
pate Angelus piano music from the mechanical as
the melody buttons, which, when finger-pressed,
graduate the volume from crashing fortissimo to
crooning pianissimo, or the reverse.
"The operator may weave into the composition
his most vagrant whims, picking out and empha-
sizing treble or bass—gradually or instantly—in-
termittently or throughout any part of the melody.
'"To the novice, watching and hearing the melody
buttons at work, it seems that their manipulation
requires almost as much musical genius and skill
as does playing by hand.
'" T could never learn to play the Angelus in that
way,' is the expression sometimes heard.
"Now, the fact is that operation of the melody
buttons is delightfully simple; their responsiveness
to touch a joy to the soul.
"But (and now comes the secret) it would not
have clone to advance the Angelus so radically
ahead of other piano-playing instruments that the
public would be afraid to attempt its mastery!
"The breach between inability to play any piano
and ability to play well upon an Angelus piano
had to be bridged—bridged so well that no one
would hesitate to cross over.
"The result is the Melodant.
"We quote from an authentic description of it:
" 'The Melodant has been invented to produce
automatic accentuation. It is a part of the interior
mechanism of the Angelus, and is operated through
extra marginal perforations in the music rolls.
It automatically produces the same effects as are
accomplished by a person using the melody buttons.
The function of the Melodaut is automatically
to pick out and accent the melody notes—even
when such notes appear in the midst of a full
chord—giving to each its proper value.'
"This means that the performer may depend
upon the automatic Melodant accentuation, or ren-
der the composition as he pleases by aid of the
melody buttons.
"No other piano-playing instruments afford such
latitude of choice. None fits in so well with the
mood of the performer, who may put much or
little personal energy into his playing.
"The Wanamaker piano salons offer you the
Angelus in connection with the Chickering, the
Schomacker, the Emerson, the Lindeman or the
celebrated Knabe piano.
"Or—the Angelus itself.
"In any event you will have acquired the most
versatile of all the so-called mechanical players."
novelty, all other players at that time being of only
(w-note range. The strong leverage, which the
new instrument gave the Melville Clark Piano Co.
is readily appreciated.
The wide range of the Apollo player gave the
operator or performer an opportunity to interpret
the great musical compositions exactly as thej
were written, without transposition or mutilation,
as was made necessary in order to adapt these
same compositions to the range of the 65-note
player. This in itself was a tremendous advantage
which the Melville Clark Piano Co. did not fail
to ut'lize to the fullest degree, nor did the dealers
who handled the Apollo player-piano neglect the
opportunity to impress the remarkable effectiveness
of this £8-note player upon the public mind.
The apex of the experimental efforts of Mel-
ville Clark is the Solo-Apollo, which has the full
FIGHTS VENDORS LICENSE.
range of 88 notes and the accenting device that
brings out the melody so clearly and so sym- When the authorities of Pueblo, Col., arrested
metrically that it is a delight to the musical con- and fined Spencer Moffat, a piano salesman, for
noisseur. It does not bring out the melody by peddling without a license and thereby violating
a city ordinance covering itinerant merchants, it
simply subduing the accompaniment, but it leaves
the accompaniment with its full force and sensuous appears that they reckoned without their host for
Mr. Moffat has filed notice of appeal from the de-
beauty, at the same time giving the true accent
cision of the magistrate's court and attacks the
to the melody. Both are in perfect proportion ami
validity of the ordinance. The local business
in accordance with the intent of the composer.
Melville Clark's latest invention demonstrates to men's association are meanwhile preparing a new
•ordinance, which it is hoped to put in force if the
what unusual efficiency and usefulness the player
present measure is declared invalid.
theory can be evolved. Mr. Clark calls his new de-
Lest you forget
We say it yet—
See b u r g Electric
coin-operated pianos
are made right in the
first place, therefore
they do not have to
be "made right" after
they get into the hands
of your customers.
Simplicity, durabil-
ity, attractive appear-
ance, these three, but
the greatest of these
is simplicity.
The "Seeburgway"
must be your way if
you want to conduct
a coin-operated busi-
ness to the best ad-
vantage. W e believe
this and desire an
opportunity of con-
vincing you.
J. P. Seeburg Piano Co.
OFFICES:
902-904 Republic Building
State and Adams Streets
FACTORY:
415-421 S. Sangamon Street
CHICAGO