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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
9
The Latest Extension of the Player Piano Idea and its Bearing Upon the
Personally Controlled Player and the Trade Generally Forms a Very Timely
and Interesting Topic of Discussion—New Sales Opportunities Offered.
Almost with startling suddenness there has
emerged into view an altogether new extension of
the player-piano idea. Almost without the leasl
notice we iind everywhere springing up in front of
us and demanding our attention player-pianos
fitted with electric-motor-driven bellows. Almost
in a moment we Iind the foot-pedal player chal-
lenged, and challenged seriously. What shall we
think of this new development, not mechanically
but commercially?
It will -be time to discuss the mechanical features
of the new idea when these have been further
developed. At present we need concern ourselves,
as remarked, only with the commercial side of
the proposition, with its effect upon the commer-
cial position of the player-piano, upon the position
which has been built up in public thought for that
proposition.
How is the new development going to affect the
ideas about the player-piano which have been
laboriously created by fifteen years of advertising?
How is the general selling argument going to be
affected? And, finally, how is the musical position
of the instrument to be altered, for better or for
worse? All these are questions of which we can-
not disguise the importance and which we might
as well settle ourselves to think about without
further delay.
Briefly, the situation is this: For some years
there has been a gradually growing and more and
more definitely expressed idea throughout the trade
that the public object to the "pumping" feature in
the player-piano. Just how far this feeling is a
product of conditions which have been deliberately
fostered through incorrect and misleading adver-
tising is a question to which the answer is fairly
plain to be seen by anyone who has kept his eyes
open; but into which we shall not enter here, for
the simple reason that there is nothing more hope-
iess or useless than thrashing over old straw. Still,
whatever be its causes, there can be little doubt
that a desire has sprung up for the manufacturers to
do something to make the player-piano still "more
automatic," if we may use the term, or still less
subject to the requirement of personal operation
and control. To put the matter brutally but with
perfect accuracy, a portion anyhow of the retail
trade has said that it wants something to sell to
the people who are too indolent to exercise them-
selves mentally or physically unless forced to.
piano music to the excessively low terms of in-
serting a roll, pressing a button and going back to
sit in front of the fire (read "radiator'' in cities).
Now, to put the matter concretely, the so-called
"'electric" player-piano consists of an ordinary
player-piano fitted with an auxiliary bellows mech-
anism adapted to be propelled by a small electric
motor, running on the ordinary light-current vol-
tage, so that it can be used wherever electric light-
ing is installed. Such a player-piano can be gov-
erned as to tempo in the usual way and as to
dynamics by some form of lever control whereby
the ordinary expression governor may be regulated
as to its resistance and the available air expansion
thereby controlled. The usual action divisions,
whether by hammer-rail or pneumatically, may of
course be retained. Thus the so-called "electric"
player-piano is merely an ordinary instrument with
two additions; one an auxiliary motor-driven bel-
lows exhaust, and the other some means for con-
trolling the operation of the expression governor.
All the other controls and the entire pneumatic
roll-driving apparatus may remain the same as be-
fore, while the usual foot-driven bellows may also
retain their regular positions if desired.
Thus the "electric" player-piano, as it has come
to be called, is, so far as concerns its present situa-
tion, a player-piano fitted with special means
whereby the foot work may be done by machinery.
The description is rough, Tjut it is accurate.
Now, in considering the effect and influence of
this hybrid upon the trade we may as well begin
by saying that it will not long remain a hybrid.
There is not the slightest use in supposing that
the trade will endeavor to sell the foot-driven
player-piano because of its admittedly greater
power of personal control. They will sell what-
ever they can sell best. And, if the "electric 1 ' be-
comes popular, as it is likely to, then we shall be
able to say that the era of the player-piano, as a
personally controlled instrument, is about over, un-
less indeed some vastly greater improvement is
made which will eliminate the foot-work and also
provide the necessary dynamic delicacy.
Without the wish to be pessimistic, then, we may
say that the advent of the so-called "electric"
player-piano, which had much better toe called a
power-driven player-piano, is quite likely to have
a most disturbing effect upon the whole player
sales problem.
It is plain that if the process thus indicated is
Now, we do not adopt this tone for the purpose
of being funny, but to emphasize a very real con- to continue the whole advertising of the player-
dition. There is no doubt whatever that it is true piano will have to be changed. Heaven knows
—seriously and completely true—that a great many there is little enough high-grade advertising being
people hate the very idea of doing anything at all done at present. The trade has virtually given
for themselves if they can get it done for them. up any attempt to talk player intelligently and is
To such people even the personal operation and apparently content to pour forth the usflal stream
control of the player, simple though this is, has of inanities about how the children can do it. With
seemed an insupportable burden. And so we have the coming of the power-driven player, we shall at
something designed to take away even this labor least have no special feeling of inappropriateness
and to reduce the process of producing player- in this, because the last excuse for talking about
the tiling seriously will then have disappeared.
We do not mean to say that the power-driven
player is incapable of expression controlled person-
ally. On the contrary, it is capable of such ex-
pression and in course of time will be refined to
any degree necessary if there be the demand for
this. What we mean is that as the player of the
ordinary type is no longer constructively adver-
tised in respect of its expressive capacities, why
expect that the power-driven player, with its far
less obvious appeal in this direction, should be sold
as anything short of a purely automatic instru-
ment ?
And yet we should be very sorry to see the
foot-driven player supplanted in popular favor;
and this for reasons based upon the future good of
the trade. What we mean is that if the foot-
ririven player should ever be entirely superseded
it is not too much to suppose that the matter of
personal expression and control will drop into the
background. And when this happens we are of
the opinion that the sale of players will begin to
fall off. Let it be remembered that as things are
now and as they are likely to remain there is
positively no sense whatever in expecting that the
player-piano can be boosted in the same way as the
talking machine has been promoted. The talking
machine has the advantage of being a universal
musical record, while the player-piano never does
more than play the piano. Thus, even supposing
that a great deal of improvement is made in the
near future, it can never be supposed that the
player can ever be promoted in a large way solely
on the score of being automatic. The only hope
lor the player as against the talking machine is
that the player docs admit of a measure of personal
control. That capacity meets a need deep in the
human heart and a need which must be met some-
how in all musical instruments, properly so-called.
The player-piano is a splendid proposition and
much of the recent automatic development has
tended to produce delicacies thought impossible
hitherto. But those automatic developments must
not be permitted, in our opinion, to dominate the
entire situation. For we are intensely of the con-
viction that if ever such a situation comes to exist
the results will simply be found in the entire ex-
tinction of the player proposition as the big feature
—which it now is—of the piano business.
The personally controlled player has been the
upholder and the mainstay of the piano business
for some little time. Let us be very sure that in
developing it anew we do not develop the personal
side out of it.
This is not said to lie churlish or to take any
position antagonistic to the best interests of all.
It is merely the expression of an opinion formed
l«y one who knows something of the trade and of
its needs and who does not wish to see anythrng
done that is not well thought out as to what its
effect will be
The Master Player-Piano
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AUTOMATIC TRACKING DEVICE
Which guarantees absolutely correct tracking of even the most imperfect music rolls
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