Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
JUNE 26,
1920
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The Fundamental Principles Involved
in the Composing and Arranging of
BY DR. EDWARD SCHAAF
Music for the Player-Piano
(Editor's Note. Doctor Schaaf is a musician who has
given much attention to the problem of arranging music
for the player-piano in such a way as to bring out the
instrument's true voice and real musical value. As he
says, "there is only one way to unlock the magic of the
player-piano keyboard and that is to treat the instrument
as a new voice in music." Doctor Schaaf has self-sac-
rificingly devoted much of his time, without thought of
material reward, to the rewriting of music for the special
purpose of making it truly suitable for the player-piano
and has achieved some astounding results. He has also
composed a number of special pieces for the player-piano
only, conceived in the most modern style of what he calls
"plastic music"; and altogether wonderful. Doctor Schaaf
has already published in The Music Trade Review the re-
sults of some earlier researches into this subject, and the
present series of extremely interesting and fascinating ar-
ticles, of which this is the fourteenth, represents the latest
fruit of his studies.)
CONTRAST AND COLOR-II
To score an entire piece of music for the
player-piano on exactly the same lines from be-
ginning to end would show poor taste on the
part of the arranger. The abuse of one or an-
other of the devices I have already mentioned
in last month's article constitutes just as griev-
ous a sin as their complete neglect. With a
view, therefore, to giving as much information
as possible as to the almost innumerable devices
which can be used for the purpose of obtaining
contrast and color, the fol-
lowing additional facts are
submitted. It must not be
inferred, however, that these
completely close the list of
possibilities, for the subject is
so vast that a whole volume
might be written without do-
ing justice to it. The pos-
sibilities of the player-piano are no more ex-
hausted than are the riches of musical litera-
ture.
In the last article I mentioned seven separate
directions in which one can work to obtain con-
trast and color. The eighth is
h. Modulation. In modern music there is
constant change of tonality. The music wan-
der-s through key after key, and every attempt
is made to secure the greatest
possible freedom of passage.
Naturally, therefore, all kinds
of modulatory effects are possi-
ble, and indeed are called for.
Free modulation ranks as one
of the player-piano's best assets,
and is an extremely powerful
agent for obtaining contrast and
color. In fact, it is almost in-
dispensable in planning the tone
color scheme of player-piano music. Its spe-
cial .value from the standpoint of the player-
piano is to be found in the instrument's won-
derful capacity for carrying out modulations
conceived on a very broad harmonic basis. In
fact, it would not be too much to say that the
unlimited technical resources of the player-piano
provide in themselves novel, untouched and
most powerful means for discovering and devel-
oping new modulatory devices. The pregnant
possibilities of this fact will suggest themselves
Fig. 90
to any musician who attempts to write definitely
for the player-piano.
i. Suspension and
j. Syncopation. Roth provide important meth-
ods for modifying the tone color of music, and
also for securing desirable contrast. Here again
the player-piano has its own way of dealing
with these means, a way as definite and indi-
vidual as that of any other musical instrument.
In passing, it is just necessary to note that
Beethoven was accustomed to accent all sus-
pensions, particularly the suspension of the
minor second in a cantabile passage.
As for syncopation, some may think that it
is rather far-fetched to claim that the player-
piano can be used to attack the problems in-
volved here in any original way. Nevertheless
the statement is true, as can be demonstrated
by the example shown in Fig. 90, which is taken
from my own "Novelette" Op. 9, No. 1.
k. Frequent change of tempo. Frequent mod-
iiications of the tempo or speed are of the es-
sence of modern music, and, of course, the
player-piano ought to be supreme here, for its
capacity is again seen to be limitless in this re-
spect. As a matter of fact, the player-piano is
indeed supreme.
Concluding Remarks on Contrast and Color
In concluding this elaborate subject, I should
Fig. 91
like to point out that I have not more than
brushed the fringe of it. In the following para-
graphs a few more examples of various possi-
bilities are shown for the reader's information.
For instance, I take an example from my
"Springtime Reverie," bars fifteen and sixteen.
Fig. 91 shows a bird-song effect. This will give
an illustration of the color versatility of the
player-piano. In this example it will be noticed
F i g . 92
that the light and rapid skipping of the intervals
is so elaborately carried out that the m a t t e r
could not possibly be inter-
j?** fe ~ —
preted p r o p e r l y by manual
""""'
playing. T h i s is a case where
the player-piano alone can ren-
der a passage as it should be
rendered.
"Isdtai 1
roundness and a color effulgency which remind
one of the effect of two harps. The player-
piano makes wonderful use of this device, and
the arranger obtains it by scoring two widely
separated broken figures in the bass against the;
harmonized melody in the treble. This example.
r
Fig. 93
is also taken from "Springtime Reverie," bars
sixty-nine and seventy.
The intervallic relations of the arpeggiated
figures must be delicately balanced each to each.
If the figures are brought too close together,
the voluptuous quality will be lacking. As il^
lustrated in Fig. 93, the illusion of the double;
harp effect is heightened by letting the lower
of the two arpeggiated figures enter a trifle
after the first beat of each bar.
And lastly, before we pass to the general sub-
ject of style, let me remind the reader of some-
thing I have before said concerning the three
registers of the player-piano. It is necessary to
remember that the supremacy lies with the
middle register. One may use this register al-
most continuously without monotony. It is,
in fact, the foundation or basis of the expressive
scheme of the player-piano, and in this respect
is much like the middle register of the human
voice.
On the other hand the higher register has the
duty of investing music with brilliancy, joyous'
atmosphere and accentual quality.
Fig. 94
shows a very bright and animated bit from
Liszt's "La Campanella." The trill has been ;
written out in sixteenth notes, and imparts a most!
sparkling character to the whole passage.
Nevertheless it must be remembered that- with-
out judicious use of speed there would be but;
little brilliancy. The reader will remember that!
we have already discussed this whole question 1
of the use of speed.
The lower register of the player-piano is;
drawn into the score for the utterance of solemn,!
majestic or somber thoughts. Again we turn'
to Chopin, in whose Fourth Sonata is found'
the majestic piece of writing shown by Fig. 95.
-
The great masters of the
piano have used the device of
the glissando chiefly to dis-
play their technical skill, or for the general ef-
fect of brilliancy, but in compositions for the
player-piano the glissando may
be employed as something more
than a mere technical device. It
may become the means of im-
parting a new tint of color, as
can be done when writing for the
orchestra. For instance, in the
-*-?—
- example shown in Fig. 92, which
is also from my "'Springtime
7
Reverie," bars twenty-two and
twenty-three,
the
glissando
sweeps along between the other parts without
in the least upsetting the balance. The color
effect is rich and novel.
In the example shown in Fig. 93 we have a
Fig. 94
In this exam-
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Fig. 95
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Fig. 96
Beethoven's Sonata in F Minor,
(Continued on page 8)