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THE MUSIC TRADE
FEBRUARY 28, 1920
REVIEW
Being Poinled and Pertinent Remarks on Timely and More or Less Interest-
ing Topics by the Editor of This Player Section, Who Expatiates on the
Aforesaid Topics in a Manner Quizzical, Philosophical,;Spritely and Otherwise
Pride Goeth Before
The exhibitions of player-pianos at the Music
Show hardly revealed anything specially excit-
ing in the way either of novelty or of improve-
ment. 1 suppose that in fact we are settling
down into the state of standardized construction
which is reached by every industry sooner or
later. But that does not mean that we ought
to feel very happy. On the contrary, there is
one quality or property of the music industries
which renders them quite unique as respects im-
provement and progress. When you are deal-
ing with the performance of music you cannot
set a limit to the course of improvement. You
cannot say: "At this point we have reached
perfection." You always find that as soon as you
have apparently reached the limit in improve-
ment there open up still further vistas of pos-
sibility, and the goal is removed as far away
as ever. The history of the reproducing piano
provides the very text required. That history
has been one of constant improvement; yet it
has only just begun. We must beware of
imagining that any sort of perfection has been
reached in any part of the player business. The
player-piano of to-day is a good, reliable and
pretty well standardized article; but it is not
perfect. It is not even as good as we have a
right to expect it to be. The moment we cease
to realize this truth we are in danger of slipping
backward. Now, we must not slip backward.
No one can afford to pause in progress; we least
of any.
ing, for the time, beyond its wildest dreams.
What is the answer? Shortage in labor, high
wages, disinclination to work hard; what do
these portend? They portend always shortage
of production. And the world cries aloud for
goods. Fools and blind! Is there no way, one
asks, to make the worker understand that he
is cutting his own throat? Did not Dr. C. Wal-
lace Petty put his finger on one truth at any
rate when he spoke at the banquet in New York
a couple of weeks ago? Would you know what
is the matter with labor? If you would, you
must put yourself in the laborer's place. He is
no economist; nor are most of the employers,
if truth were known. The matter with the work-
er is a combination of reaction from war-excite-
ment, recognition of the importance of labor in
the war, crude half-true economic doctrine
preached by extremists; and shameless profiteer-
ing by everybody who has had the chance.
What is the remedy? It is hard but effective.
We must deflate and get down to rock-bottom.
Then, if we have a year or two of readjustment,
no one will mind. When extravagance and
profiteering are abandoned by some of those
who like to preach to the workers, then perhaps
we shall have a general return to sanity. This
great country of ours is big enough to stand a
lot of punishment, and we in the music indus-
tries, after all, can say that we have not been
profiteers, or else the others have been high-
binders.
in ten of the player-piano performances of the
same man's hand-played roll of the same music
to see that there is. a whole lot to be said for
demonstration even in these days. The trouble
with the whole matter is that the hand-played
roll will not alone make up for gratuitous abuse
of the sustaining device, of the pedals and of the
whole scheme of contrast which the most noisy
of music must utilize, if it is to be intelligible.
So long as the big mass of the player-pianos are
of the foot-driven type—and I believe that this
will be so always—we shall need good demon-
strators. We shall need them to make the peo-
ple know the meaning of the player-piano. They
don't know it yet. I am aware that the people
are buying player-pianos by the tens of thou-
sands. But I want to see them buy them in
still greater quantities, when production has
returned to something like the normal. And I
am much of the opinion that the progress we all
want to see will not materialize if our retailers
continue to disregard the rules of salesmanship.
What Is Demonstration?
You cannot sell a car unless you can demon-
strate its strong points conclusively. Those
points in the end have nothing to do with engi-
neering details but everything to do with per-
formance. You cannot sell a vacuum cleaner
unless you can demonstrate it. That means, in
the end, next to nothing in the way of technical
description, but everything in the way of per-
formance. The housewife really does not mind
Demonstrators
a bit whether the Blimp vacuum cleaner has a
Hand-played rolls and reproducing pianos are rotating plano-convex rinkumtoodle or not. The
Labor Vincit
very fine; in fact, they are very fine indeed. We salesman may astound her with talk of that
could scarcely do without them now. But at sort, but if he wants to sell he must demon-
The Western Electric Co., in its Hawthorne the same time we could even less do without strate. He must be able to make the machine
plant on the South-West side of Chicago, em- the good old everyday foot-driven player. do things which no other machine of the kind
ploys normally 20,000 men when it is running
will do, or at least do the same things more
full blast. To-day it would like to be employ- Wherefore one is led to the inquiry: "Why, easily, with less effort on the user's part, or
ing that number and even more; but it has been oh! why, is there so little good demonstration more efficiently. That is the nature and end of
for months in a chronic state of shortage to the theso days?" After all, if one does not expect a all specialty salesmanship—demonstration. Dem-
tune of between 4,000 and 5,000 workers. The performance worthy of a virtuoso, one at least onstrate and you sell. It is no different with
skilled trades throughout the country in the might get something tolerable. Of course I the player-piano, save in the respect that the
industrial districts are reported to be running know that the music most wanted is popular people who buy the latter are satisfied with a
generally on reduced forces; and the reductions dance and ballad music. But that does not much lower standard of achievement. Some
are due to inability to obtain the necessary help. alter the case a bit. One only has to listen to fellow will say that it is a good thing the folks
The player factories and the piano shops are as the work of a first-class jazz pianist in a don't know any more than they do about music,
badly off as ever apparently. Labor is prosper- theatre or restaurant and compare it with nine that if they did things would be still worse for
us. But that is poor stuff and not even funny.
The player-piano is a wonderful influence for
good, and not half appreciated by the trade at
INTRODUCED IN
that. Let us at least treat it with respect. As
an old-timer in a sort of way, I remember the
great work done by such pioneers as Harcourt,
Parkyn, Heaton, Hunter and Longwell. Those
men are with us yet and flourishing in their
several ways. They will not mind my saying
Made by the pioneers and
that it was their work which grounded the player
Have wonderful patented
leaders in the playerpiano
devices and exclusive
firmly in the market of steadily demanded goods.
industry
features
And I think that none of them would differ with
me if I said that an injection of the same treat-
e WILCOX ® WHITE Co.
Agencies all over the Wortd
ment into the retail trade would do no harm.
Business Established 1877
MERIDEN CONN.
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STANDARD PLAYER ACTIONS
STANDARD PNEUMATIC ACTFON C O .
638 - 652 WEST 52 ^STREET
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NEW YORK CITY
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