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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
The Standardization of Music Rolls for Electric-Driven Player-Pianos Dis-
cussed by Frank W. Teeple, President, Price & Teeple Piano Co., Chicago—
Favors Conference of Player Manufacturers, Roll Makers and Merchants.
The advent of the player-piano fitted with elec-
tric equipment naturally means that a special music
roll, equipped with extra marginal perforations,
must be used for current-control, motor-start-and-
stop, expression, and so on. It is becoming known,
however, that up to the present time liltle or no
consideration has been given to the broad question
of so standardizing such rolls that all electric-
driven players may use any make of roll. This, of
course, involves a parallel standardization of
tracker-bars, but even so it can he seen that if each
'player is to require one special sort of roll, and
will play on no other, we are set back to the con-
dition of chaos which existed in the early days of
the cabinet player, where everybody had his own
music and no roll of one sort would play on any
other machine. The present condition of the in-
dustry forbids the perpetuation of any such ab-
surdity, and therefore it is desirable that the sub-
ject should forthwith be taken up and studied.
F. W. Teeple, of the Price & Teeple Piano Co.,
has given much thought to this important question
and has undertaken to give his views on it for the
benefit of the trade in this issue of the Player Sec-
tion as follows:
"Like many others, my company has undertaken
to put on the market a player-piano fitted with elec-
tric-drive. The functions of such a piano are, of
course, twofold. ' On the one hand, the electric-
drive of the bellows may be regarded just as an
ingenious way of getting rid of the physical effort
of playing the player-piano; while, on the othei
hand, it may be regarded as marking the opening
of a new epoch in the player-piano business; an
epoch which shall see the development of an en-
tirely new system of roll-controlled expression. In
any case, even now it is plain that the electric-
drive player requires a roll specially perforated at
its margin for the various automatic controls of
expression, start-and-stop, and so on, and a tracker-
bar arranged to co-operate with said roll.
"Now, we manufacturers are, in the end, the
servants of the piano merchants. We bring out
something new and ask them to sell it at retail for
us. Is it not natural to suppose that we should do
all in our power to see that no unnecessary obsta-
cles are placed in the merchant's way? Surely this
is plain, and yet, in this new electric-drive propo-
sition, we have the spectacle of various makers in-
sisting on having an individual method of placing
their expression and control per fora lions, thus re-
quiring special rolls which can be used on their
own players and on no others. Only the other day
I had occasion to visit a large m .Tenant who
showed me in his roll library no less than sixteen
different makes of rolls, and a good stock of each.
Think of the economic waste involved! Virtually
all these rolls were repetitions, sixteen times over,
of a certain number of popular and well-ca'led-for
selections, and the only reason for having more
than one edition lay in the necessity for accommo-
dating various types of players. This merchant
does not like the situation, and told me so plainly.
"Now, it does seem to me that only shortsighted-
ness and perhaps just indifference could cause the
trade-at-large to permit the existence of a state of
affairs like this. Who is being benefited? One
maker may say that his players should use only the
rolls he makes or controls, and this is perhaps all
right for a selfish reason. But surely it is plai-n
that in the end—and not a distant end, either—the
player business will suffer, for the reason that the
merchants will rebel. They will simply become dis-
gusted, and neglect the new opportunity. No one
manufacturer is big enough to force his will on the
entire trade, and anybody who refuses to see the
light will suffer for certain. The only sane way
of handling the electric-drive player is for all of us
to agree upon some method of standardization
whereby all marginal perforations for expression
and control shall be placed in agreed-on positions
and whereby the roll itself shall be made as nearly
as possible standard in respect of its dimensions.
"This will not interfere with anybody's special
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roll, with special perforations in the body of the
roll, with the arranging of the music or, in fact,
with anything that should not be the subject of in-
terference. It will interfere only with the eccen-
tricities of those who want to be different; but
such considerations should not be allowed to stand
in the way of trade progress.
"Of course this will mean the standardization of
Frank W. Teeple.
tracker-bars also, but the two run parallel with
each other and there is no reason to suppose that
if the roll makers agree the player makers will not
agree likewise.
"I propose to bring up this matter before the
meeting of the executive committee of the Piano
Manufacturers' Association in February at New
York, and hope that President Corley, of the Mer-
chants' Association, which will have a meeting of
its own executive committee at the same time and
place, will consider carefully the attitude which his
association should take toward this matter. I am
convinced that, as we are all meeting in New York
at this time, a conference of player manufacturers,
roll manufacturers and merchants could'be called
to consider the question. There will be represent-
atives of all three branches present, and if they
would get togclher and adopt an informal organi-
zation they could elect a committee of ways and
means which might study the matter and present a
report at an adjourned meeting to be held at some
central point, say, in April. This report might be
made the basis of an agreement between all the
interests involved, which would have the same ben-
eficial effects as followed the 88-note conference at
Buffalo in 1909.
"After all, this is ultimately a matter for the
merchant, and in arguing thus T am in reality argu-
ing the case of the merchant. Why should he have
to carry a dozen different makes of electric-driven
player rolls? What is there fair, or even sane,
about it? It is a ridiculous state of affairs and one
that must be remedied if the progress of the elec-
tric-drive player is not seriously to be checked. I,
therefore, appeal to the merchants and especially to
the Merchants' Association, to co-operale with me
and others in this important reform.
"There are other outstanding technical and trade
questions that such a conference might also settle;
but T have spoken of the most prominent. I shall
be glad to act with any others in the trade,"