Music Trade Review

Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE
MU3IC TRADE
REVIEW
THE NEW MOVEMENT IN MUSIC ROLL MAKING.
Some Pertinent Observations and a Prophecy—Music Roll Has Long Been a Weak Point in the
Player Proposition—New Roll Opens a More Successful Era for the Player-Piano Provided
the Piano Merchant Thoroughly Understands the Manner of Approaching the Sale of the
Product—Importance of Educating the Public to the Advantages of the Record Roll.
The wise observer will not attempt to minimize
the importance of the new movement in music
roll making which is just now of such great ac-
tivity in the player trade. Neither will he be
unduly carried away by the superficial aspects of
the matter, but will try to obtain a just view of
the whole proposition, to the end that he may
decide rightly what is to be his course in the
future. There is not the slightest doubt that, with
anything like decent handling, the music roll in-
dustry has now an opportunity to' enter upon a
new and exceedingly interesting phase of its
career, a phase which was not considered as exist-
ing until a very short time ago, comparatively
speaking. The results of the new state of affairs
ought to be eminently advantageous to the whole
player trade. And the time spent in an analysis
of the whole proposition cannot be wasted if,
thereby, anything like a sensible conclusion can
be reached.
Weak Point in Player Proposition.
Those who have taken the trouble to keep their
eyes open and their wits sharp have long since
observed that the music roll has been a weak point
in the player proposition. The task of educating
a public to such skill in the manipulation of the
player mechanism as would enable them to over-
come the hardness and machinelike quality of
music produced through the ordinary roll has been
found to be impossible. This is not because there
are any very grave difficulties in the actual work
to be done, but because people are unwilling to
learn, indifferent and largely stupid. There has
been the stumbling block on which many a well-
intentioned scheme has been smashed.
At the same time it is to be observed that the
trade has had no business to be content with such
a state of affairs. If a thing is wrong in a busi-
ness proposition, then it is the task, the immediate
task, of everybody concerned to get out and
remedy it. The music roll has been an obstacle
in the way of the complete popularization of the
player, through no fault of its own whatever, but
solely because it has required a certain amount of
intelligent handling. And the whole experience
of the player trade is that, in matters relating to
music, the public is not to be expected to use
even the most rudimentary intelligence.
Analyzing the matter, we find that the player
has been very generally condemned by musicians
and that section of the public which is musically
intelligent, on the ground that a relatively large
amount of experience, knowledge and skill is re-
quired in order to produce well-sounding music
through it. To a large extent the accusation is
founded on fact. As for the other section of the
public, which can find satisfaction for its musical
needs in the class of composition which needs little
or nothing in the way of interpretation, even they
have complained. They have said that the rag-
gedest ragtime that ever was sounds ill on the
player. And there you are.
The Element at Fault.
Now, the thing to be considered is that the
music roll is the element at fault. If we could
induce people to take a little trouble with the
player, to make some attempt at learning how to
handle it, then there would be no cause to com-
plain. But this is a task—as all who have tried
it know—of immense and appalling magnitude; a
task from which the business interests of the
player trade are very likely to recoil. Nor can
we blame them for taking such an attitude. They
have to sell things, not to educate the public—a
job for which they are not being paid. So it has
been necessary to maKe some change in the music
foil situation. And this has come about through
the development of the roll which is a record of
hand-playing, or is so marked and arranged as to
permit of effects similar to those of hand-playing.
It is well that we should clearly contrast the
two methods, new and old, The old idea was that,
since the player is a mechanical sort of thing, any-
way, the music arranged for it should be as bril-
liant, elaborate and noisy as possible. It was
pointed out that there is difficulty in bringing out
a melody clearly against its accompaniment;
wherefore the precisely wrong notion was exploit-
ed of so elaborating the melody that it would
sound louder than the accompaniment. It might
have been supposed that an easier and saner
method could have been found, as, for instance,
that arrangers might have studied the hand-playing
of a piece and made their arrangements accord-
ingly. One of the peculiarities of hand-playing is
that, while in theory chords which are written to
be played simultaneously, with one tone to be ac-
cented as being part of a melody, are supposed to
be modulated in intensity through difference in
finger pressure, the actual practice is to hold back
or advance the tone which is to be accented. This
is actually shown in the record rolls themselves.
In fact, in the automatically accented rolls, such
as are used with the Themodist and Melodant, this
principle is used, to the great advantage of the
whole proposition.
But no such sane and simple ideas have pre-
vailed, and the consequence has been that the ordi-
nary music roll—not speaking here of such rolls
as are used with the Themodist, Melodant, Solo-
Apollo or such devices—has been unmusical, and
almost proof against attempts to make it so.
Now Comes the Style of Roll.
Now comes the new style of roll. It is for us
to consider just exactly how far such a roll ful-
fills the purpose laid out for it, of reforming the
musical position of the player. And to do that we
must know just what this roll will do.
The two big difficulties in playing the player-
piano acceptably are the accentuation of tones and
the phrasing. Devices are in successful use which
overcome these difficulties, but the second of them
requires a certain amount of attention on the part
of the performer for one thing, and for another
does not enter into the minute internal elements
of phrasing within a single motive, or a single
measure. Accentuation is a matter which has al-
ready been so well mastered in the manner outlined
above that it is as well at this point to remark
that the new rolls have nothing of importance to
solve in this respect.
But the matter of phrasing is a horse of an-
other color. Here the new roll has its very dis-
tinct value. The subject can be considered from
two points of view. The record roll not only
takes away from the lazy, the ignorant or the
bashful performer the necessity for figuring out
his phrasing, it not only supplies a ready-made
phrasing, but it also gives the specific phrasing of
a specific person. It not only says that this is
right, but also says that it is right because this or
that master of piano playing says so. It announces
that here is not merely a correct phrasing of a
piece, but a personal interpretation, personally
made by this or that virtuoso. When to this ad-
vantage is added the further advantage realized
in recording also the sustaining pedal technic of
the pianist, we see that the new roll gives us very
great improvements all around.
Improvements of Importance.
And these improvements are even greater than
appears on the surface. First, the provision of a
record which gives a true phrasing and pedal in-
terpretation means that the work of accentuation
is made easier. The reasons for this have been
suggested in an earlier paragraph. When com-
bined with an accentuating device the general re-
sult is highly musical and furnishes a bafflingly
close imitation of actual hand playing. Secondly,
ir tends to give the layman ideas as to what musi-
cal interpretation, personally considered, may
really mean, It tends to put good musical ideas
into the layman's brain by direct personal contact,
without taking away from him the feeling tha{ he
is doing part of the work himself. Thirdly, it
enables comparison of various interpretations and
thus further educates and refines the taste. And,
lastly, it assists in stimulating ambition to become
more thoroughly acquainted with the treasures of
musical literature.
The record roll is by no means the complete
solution of all the problems which embarrass the
player trade. It is not even a complete solution
of the selling problem. But it goes far toward pro-
viding an ultimate solution. For it enables every-
body to get something like a decent production of
music from the player-piano. And when we say
everything, let us remember that the term in-
cludes literally "everybody," which in turn means
that the salesman as well as the customer is con-
sidered. The miseries and abominations of player-
piano demonstration in the hands of incapable
salesmen—which means a majority of those who
do this work—may be at last forever banished.
Oh, happy day!
Record Roll Should Be Encouraged.
The record roll should therefore be encouraged
in every possible way. It is the bounden duty of
those who manufacture it to see that the dealer
thoroughly understands the manner of approach-
ing the sale of the product. It is the duty of all
in the trade to see that the public is put wise to
the advantages of the record roll by the most
judicious publicity. All should join in bringing
forth into strictest light of publicity and success
so promising a proposition as this.
To sum the matter up» in a few words, the new
rolls give us the chance of opening up a greater
and more successful era for the player-piano. If
we have sense and clearness of vision we shall
take good advantage of what is given us.
PATENTS AFD TO TUNING.
German Inventor Devises Means for Assisting
to the Tuning af Pneumatically-Operated
Musical Instruments—How It Operates.
(Special to The Review.)
Washington, D. C, Sept. 23, 1912.
Gustave Karl Hennig, of Wahren, near Leipzig,
Germany, is the inventor of a means to assist
tuning pneumatically operated musical instruments
which should greatly intt ^t members of the
music trade industry in this ccrantry, and on which
patent No. 1,038,581 was granted this week. The
invention, which has been assigned to Ludwig
Hupfeld Aktienggessellschaft, of Leipzig, relates
to devices to assist the tuning automatically played
musical instruments, especially such instruments
as employ in their structure vibrating strings,
either bowed or struck, to set them in vibration.
To this end the improvement is so made that the
string to be tuned is sounded simultaneously with
the same note of another musical device, be it
piano string, reed or pipe, whose tone is less sub-
ject to alteration, by means of a valve device on
electric contact mechanism or the like. In this
manner the strings of the violin type instruments
may be accurately tuned to the same note of other
types of instrument whose tone is more stable,
for example, a piano string, a reed or a pipe. This
mechanism can be so constructed that the two tones
of different timbre to be compared are sounded
simultaneously or successively, or the more sus-
tained or standard tone be produced ahead of the
one of shorter duration to be tuned thereto. Or
it may be that one tone may be repeated inde-
pendently of the other sustained one.
In illustrating his invention Mr. Hennig has
chosen to show it as applied to pneumatically ac-
tuated automatic players, as most such players are
now so operated. In such pneumatic instruments
the sounding of a note is customarily effected by
setting free an opening in the tracker bar by the
music sheet to admit atmospheric air to the valve
that controls the operating pneumatic for the
string, reed or pipe.
If you desire a man for any department of
your service, either for your factory or for
your selling department, forward your adv«r>
tisement to u* and it will be ijuerted fr«« of
chaffs.