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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
B
An Opportunity Exists to Open Up a New Source of Player Demand By Fea-
turing the Player as an Aid in Teaching Piano Pupils—How One Manufacturer
Plans to Prevent the Producing of Harsh Tones By Amateur Player-Pianists
From time to time in this department of the
Player Section we purpose to illustrate the
points of view of progressive minds in the in-
dustry, from which they look at the various
technical, practical and commercial problems of
their business. Whenever we hear of something
new, something original, something that ought
to be taken up and considered, at least, to see
if there is anything in it, we shall ear-mark the
information for use in this department.
Progress depends upon the propagation of
"new and fresh ideas," as Matthew Arnold calls
them, and it may be added that most of the
failures in this world are due to the neglect
of ideas that, if rightly stimulated, would have
flowered into the greatest utility and value.
Just as an illustration of the manner in which
we wish to see such a department developed, we
set forth here short descriptions of two ideas
which have come to our notice within the last
few weeks, and which seem to us worthy of
preservation.
WORKING WITH MUSIC TEACHERS
Some few weeks ago, the Chicago letter of
The Review noted the ideas of a well-known
Western traveler on the player situation in the
territory over which he exerts authority. This
gentleman was impressed with the growing in-
terest of music teachers in the player-piano. This
gentleman has recently returned from an Iowa
trip during which he made a careful survey of
the condition of the player business, especially
undertaking to observe the reputation which the
player has gained among the public and the use
that is being made of it. It is, of course, well
known to us all that the player-piano has been
presented to musicians over and over again as
an aid to musical appreciation, but it is not usual-
ly supposed that the same instrument can be used
as an instructor in the technics of piano playing.
Yet this is what our observing friend says.
He tells us that a prominent music teacher in
Iowa gave him some most interesting informa-
tion of this sort, regarding the use of the player
for instruction in rhythm and tempo. This
teacher has the pupil pedal through a roll of
some piece which is to be learned, keeping the
tempo lever fixed and playing in straight time
without any attention to expression until the
rhythm of the piece and its metronomic speed
are firmly planted in the mind. When this is
done the pupil is encouraged to use the player
again, working now for accent and general dy-
namic expression. The study of the piece is
then taken up by hand and this teacher says
that the rapidity with which the sense of the
true tempo and its rhythmic pattern are seized is
really wonderful. He considers the results in
every way effective.
This same teacher also allows his pupils,
under proper restrictions and when they have
advanced to a certain grade, to play over hand-
played rolls, in order to compare them with the
same pieces cut in mathematical tempo, so ^hat
the mannerisms of artists in respect of the
phrasing they adopt for accentual expression
may be practically set before the pupils' minds.
The teacher who uses this unique method states
that it is in every sense of the term successful.
It has been suggested by some of the musi-
cians and teachers with whom the traveling man
has talked that the player-piano possesses un-
usual resources as a teacher of tempo to ele-
mentary grade children. The fact that the
player-pianist, in his pumping, practically is
beating time with his feet, is of great import-
ance, and it would seem, from the experience of
those who have watched the method, that the
idea of "stepping in time" has a value all its
own. The feet do, indeed, tend always'to ".step
in time" when any sort of stimulation exists, as
witness the use of music in marching.
A good deal more might be said along the
same line, but the main point is that the travel-
ing man who gathered these impressions has
given us another valuable hint as to the exist-
ence of a field for the exploitation of the player,
which has hitherto been almost altogether
neglected. The public schools of the country
furnish most favorable ground for the inculca-
tion of ideas of musical appreciation, but, al-
though a great deal of time is given to the teach-
ing of music in the public schools, the results, it
may safely be said, are not commensurate with
the effort put into them.
Here then is an idea! Why not encourage the
dealer to go out after the school boards and
individual music teachers, to interest them along
these lines? Could not the manufacturers be
induced to co-operate with live, enterprising re-
tailers on this? Why not?
VOICING PLAYER=PIANOS
Walter Weiser, of Weiser & Sons, Chicago,
piano manufacturers, has some original views on
the treatment which should be given to player-
pianos in respect of their tone. He believes
player-pianos usually are played far too energet-
ically owing to the apparently incurable public
belief that pedaling player-pianos and walking
the treadmill are interchangeable terms. He has
experimented with various ways of reducing the
extraordinary strain on the ears of the public
which comes from the incessant pounding of
player-pianos under the feet of husky pedalers,
but without avail until recently. Mr. Weiser
believes that one of the principal objections to
the player-piano arises from its hard tone-qual-
ity, which in turn is due to the unskilful playing
PATRIOTISM AND PLAYERS
(Continued from page 3)
our business by all legitimate means at the pres-
ent moment, but are actually bound to do so by
every tie of honor, of patriotism and of civic
duty. The enormous expenditures to which the
nation is now committed might strain the re-
sources of even our great people, if any branch
of business is permitted to languish. Now our
own line of business can only languish through
our own fault, for there is no power on earth
that can otherwise prevent that line from expe-
riencing prosperity. The purchasing power of
the public is certainly going to be vastly on the
increase during the coming year, and it is up
to us to see that the player trade gets its share.
For one thing is certain: the trade in mu-
sical instruments of some sort is going to
flourish vastly. The public demand for music
during normal times is something enormous;
during times such as these it may be expected
to be incredibly great. If the public does not buy
player-pianos it will be because the public is
not being informed of the advantages of these
instruments in a convincing way. What may
be understood by the word "convincing" this
article has attempted to set forth briefly and,
so far as it has gone, accurately. We do not
suppose that all the possibilities of the subject
have been exhausted in these few paragraphs,
or that some other advertising man would not
put the whole proposition on another basis.
of the ordinary careless "pumper." He, there-
fore, has been trying the experiment of de-
liberately voicing down all his player-pianos
with a view to reducing this .b^d \ effect. The
result seems to be justifiable, for* th f e player-
pianos thus treated certainly sound very pleas-
ing. There is an absence of the harshness which
accompanies ordinary "player pounding" which
is quite refreshing.
Of course, the idea is not one that will com-
mend itself to expert player-pianists, but then
expert player-pianists are not much more
numerous, unhappily, than the proverbial hens'
teeth. The real musician or music lover, of
course, can color his own tone to suit himself,
but to acquire the ability to do this is a matter
of study and practice. The ordinary player-
piano owner does not care a hill of beans for
anything save plenty of joyful noise, though not
exactly in the sense meant by the Psalmist. To
reduce his enthusiasm appears to be impossible,
a:id likewise undesirable, for we must not give
him the impression that joyfulness is something
to be suppressed. Therefore we might try the
experiment of doing the suppressing indirectly,
in the manner suggested by Mr. Weiser.
There is in fact much to be said for the idea
of giving player-pianos special treatment for
tone.
The hardness and tinniness come of
themselves after a course of high-duty fortis-
simo work. There is the germ of something
good in the notion that the hardness should
not be encouraged from the start.
S.O.S.!
Incidentally, if any reader of this paper cares
to tell us of any wrinkles, ideas, novelties or
magic of any sort in relation to the making or
selling of player-pianos, he will confer no small
favor upon an harassed editor, by making said
editor the recipient of his confidences. In this
way the noble cause of trade journalism will be
promoted to the satisfaction of all.
But it seems clear to us that the time is here to
make effectively a strong appeal for the player-
piano from every standpoint; and especially in
connection with its undoubted superiority as a
producer of elaborately scored, attractive and
stirring piano music. No instrument, it has
often and truly been said, can take the place of
the piano. There is nothing to fill the gap
which would be left if its crisp, tangy touch and
powerful dynamic tone were taken away from
us. The player-piano, let us ever remember, is
a piano plus; a piano that all can play and that,
likewise, can permit the performance of music
in a style and with a spirit that no two hands
can hope to emulate.
Rightly handled, the
player-piano has a voice and capacities that put
it in a class by itself as a true musical instru-
ment of the best sort, quite unique in its capa-
bilities and preserving all the beauties of tone
inherent in what is, after all, an instrument of
individual and singular beauty.
All of these thoughts can animate us at this
time, when we consider the possibilities pre-
sented by the player-piano from the advertising
and sales standpoints.
We can make use of
some of them at least even if only indirectly.
"Let us have patriotic music in every home!"
And let it be played on the player-piano!
A certificate of incorporation has been issued
to the Canadian Automatic Orchestras, Ltd., of
Toronto, Ont. The capitalization of the con-
cern is $75,000.