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THE MUSIC TRADE
APRIL 24, 1920
REVIEW
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The Time Has Gome When the Player Industry Must Realize That Econom-
ical and Efficient Production of Player Mechanisms Can Only Be Obtained
Through the Application of the Proper Principles of Engineering Science
worked out to anything like perfection. Very invention, but is not appropriate for the normal
few have really been thought out on an engi- condition of a great industry. Through the
neering basis. As a consequence the practice carelessness of designers in omitting to study s
of the factories is still clumsy and wasteful and the pneumatic relations between vacuum sys-
the efficiency* of the mechanisms lower than it tem, chests, valves and pneumatics, one fre-
quently finds that the perhaps well-considered
should be. - -. •
An industry which does not move forward design of one part or set of parts is virtually
soon languishes. If our industry is to continue nullified.
to prosper we must continue to progress. That
A Cause of Inefficiency
means that we must develop new ideas. But
In looking over various mechanisms recently
we cannot do this until we have cleared up our the writer has been struck by the fact that in
present position and brought ourselves to the many cases there have been plain miscalcula-
highest possible point of development of the tions in matters not seemingly important, but
material we already possess. This we are not iir reality essential. The instance to which ref-
doing. Some consideration of a single instance erence was made above and which is principally
will make this clear.
in mind at this moment, was found in examining
the connections between the penumatics and
An Instance
The general technical practice of the indus- the individual valve chambers in a certain action.
try in respect of the assembly of pneumatics and Here it was plain, almost at first sight, that
valves contemplates the use of a chest or trunk the passages were a good deal too small. On
on which the parts are assembled and which making a rapid calculation the writer concluded
acts as a closed area for the production of the that in order to flush the pneumatics sufficient-
reduced pressure needed for the operation of ly rapidly, with due consideration of the size
the mechanism. Into this must run several sets of the chest, each passage should have had a
of openings. One set is to connect the valves diameter one and a half times what it actually
Now the result of the actual condition
and pneumatics with the chest. One is to allow was.
the normal atmosphere to enter below the valves was that the pneumatics could not be flushed
from the tracker bar. If a double valve system quickly enough to produce a high tension on
is used the case is slightly complicated, but not anything like rapid playing. The player-piano \
in which this action is installed will work very \
at all altered in principle.
It will be seen at once that the dimensions of well on music of moderate speed and moderate
the chest and the sizes of the various openings dynamic power, but at higher speed or when
into it are matters for careful calculation. These rapid accenting is needed it will work very in-
dimensions must depend upon the dimensions of efficiently.
the pneumatics. These in turn must depend
It really seems hard to believe that an ex-
upon the limitations of dimensions imposed treme case like this could exist, but any one
upon the designer by consideration of the space who has made a study of the technical detail of
into which he must fit his mechanism in the the art knows that it is not hard to discover
piano. They must also, however, depend upon instances equally remarkable.
consideration of the possible or available power
The Standard of Criticism
of the vacuum system or bellows.
The real reason for % the generally low level
In respect of the size of the space within ol technical attainment in our industry is prob-
which the mechanism must be fitted we all ably to be found in the absence of any real
know that our designers do very well, indeed. standard of criticism. Those who buy, and use,
But as respects the pneumatic design there is the player-piano are commonly without the least
desire to examine, much less criticize, the work-
less efficiency. There has grown up a sort of
rough-and-ready way of doing things, which ings of the instrument. They want, on the other
is all very well for the crude early stage of an hand, rather to obtain their very slight desires
for music with the least trouble. Phys'ical
effort they do not mind. Plainly, then, the peo-
ple are not likely to afford any helpful criticism,
(Continued from page 5)
and recourse must be had to the industry itself.
of what is termed ''expression device." Usually those who use the instrument at present are To the men of this industry, then, let us
there is an arrangement for decreasing power so extremely slight that it is not safe to de- simply say that the road towards economical
on either half of the keyboard as desired, to- pend upon the use of any of these devices. The and efficient manufacture is only to be found
gether with something in the nature of an ac- composer should invariably undertake his ar- by persistent attempts to render more efficient
centing system, worked either through the foot- rangements in the understanding that smooth- every detail of design. The underlying physical
touch on the bellows, or through a combination ness, softness, dynamical contrast and so on principles of any mechanism must be mastered
of this with some rapidly working lever or can be planned and attained through judicious if that mechanism is to be efficient, and also if
button. These devices, when judicmusly handled use of polyphony, of rightly employed dynamic it is to be produced economically. The elimi-
shadings, of speed, and so on. These points nation of useless parts and the reduction of
by an experienced player-pianis% permit of
'pleasing and highly enlivening effects, which will, of course, be easily understood by any dimensions, which has followed every attempt
at their highest point of development become person who gives serious attention to the mat- to master the engineering problems of the in-
artistic and personal. Here again, however, ter, and are mentioned here only as a reminder. dustry, may still be carried much further, to
the advantage of all concerned.
(To be continued)
the musical attainment of the vast majority of
The standardization of the player mechanism
has proceeded apace, but it has not yet become
complete, nor is the time ever likely to come
when there shall no longer be room for the
exercise of mechanical ingenuity and scientific
knowledge. There are many reasons for this
statement, most of which are entirely to the
credit of the industry. One, however, decidedly
is not so, and of this it is now desirable to
speak.
That reason lies in the very slight regard paid
to real scientific work amongst us. It still re-
mains unhappily true that our designers and
superintendents are far too much of the "in-
ventor" class, and far too little the engineers
they should be. The typical "inventor," of
whom we speak and who is to be understood as
the archetype of a class, and not as an individual,
is nearly always extremely ingenious and a
natural mechanic, but he very seldom has any
exact knowledge. The engineer, on the other
hand, is usually less original than he is exact.
The industry has now reached a position where
we need fewer of the former and more of the
latter.
Any observation of the facts of this or any
other industry will reveal the truth that the
first daring movements toward new and splendid
mechanical triumphs have always come from
the minds of the "inventors." On the other
hand, these men have not commonly been the
refiners and developers. Perhaps the only char-
acteristic of the German system which made it
formidable in the world before the war was its
ability in the realm of patient application. The
German was not an originator, but he was a
splendid worker in fields of thought originally
discovered and ploughed by other men.
Clear the Ground
Now it seems to the writer that the time has
arrived in our industry when we are debarred
from making any surprisingly important moves
or working out into any real essential advances
until we shall have cleared up the ground im-
mediately before us. We are at present finding
ourselves with a mass of half-digested ideas
worked into our mechanisms and into our
practice of manufacture. None of these is
COMPOSING AND ARRANGING MUSIC FOR THE PLAYER
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