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THE
SEPTEMBER 25, 1920
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MUSIC TRADE
11
REVIEW
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The Fundamental Principles Involved
in the Composing and Arranging of
BY DR. EDWARD SCHAAF
Music for the Player-Piano
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(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 seventeenth, represents the latest
fruit of his studies.)
created, because of the limitations of the ten figure like the following without employing
fingers of the human pianist. On the other much speed.
hand, the tones of the player-piano can be per-
petuated to any extent required through the
devices of iteration, trilling, tremolo, over-
lapping, etc., etc. The arranger, therefore, bear-
ing this fact in mind, is able to lay out his
work on the basis of what amounts to really
sustained tone, wherever required.
It is true that to score melodies for the
'
Fig. 100
player-piano so as to give them a sustained
The player-piano, however, must speed up a
effect is much more difficult than to lay out passage like this in order to obtain an equal de-
sparkling ornamental passages. The purely gree of smoothness.
vocal element, that is to say, is the most elusive.
ARRANGING
Again, the pianist who possesses a fair tech-
The novice in arranging will tend always to- nique can play smoothly the following passage
Scoring Melodies
wards homophonic effects, that is to say, sin-
There is an old saying to the effect that a musi-
gle-voiced effects, for these are much more
cian is known by his basses, and this has be- easily secured. On the other hand, however, the
come almost an established truth among musi- interweaving of parts (or the polyphonic style)
cians. In fact, if it is accepted as a statement serves as a much more eloquent and effective
of a principle, we shall be able by means of it method for obtaining expression. Nevertheless,
to expose the sameness, monotony and weak- when a certain skill has been attained through
ness of the harmonic foundation which underlies steady practice, a sustained style of musical
•••
Fig. 101
so many popular march, waltz and song ar- utterance may be closely approximated. In the
but the player-piano again will perform it bet-
rangements.
following example
ter at a higher speed. On the player-piano
Sometimes one finds most brilliant accom-
nevertheless this pas-
paniment figures written to ordinary march and
• • • X . J
£
sage can be executed
waltz melodies. This occasionally happens when
" T * " j
*T "* Tj z^=z s o m e w h a t
more
novices in arranging have lifted out deliberately
*
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rizz smoothly than could
a piece of harmonic work from the structure of
the previous one, be-
a successful and masterly piece of music, and
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~ c a u s e t n ' s o n e catt-
then have provided a good support to their own
le j
1 *j yi ' j " m—r- tains dissonant inter-
melody by changing it here and there. Now
*
^
vals, in this case chro-
this sort of thing is all right when it is done
matic.
This is the
Fig.
99
by a master. For instance, Beethoven often
employed such formulas, and so did Chopin. it will be seen that the melody sings quite real reason for the added smoothness, not the
So also did Handel. These masters sometimes effectively, and there is virtually no loss of fact that the intervals are woven more closely
worked their melodies into harmonic figures melodic power as the voice progresses; in fact, together. The pianist finds a passage more dif-
which they had picked up here and there, hut the expressive force is actually intensified by ficult in proportion as dissonances multiply and
they never made the mistake of selecting the the smooth and sympathetic accompaniment. intervals vary in width. On the other hand, the
wrong sort of combination.
They always Although the monotonous after-the-beat accen- player-piano works just in the opposite way and
adopted the right sort of formula to the right tuation is absent, the full effect of the passage, renders passages with increasing smoothness as
sort of melody. Those who arrange music for which is from my "Waltz in E Flat," is char- they are scored to be executed with proportion-
the military band employ these formulas to a acterized by the utmost gayety, grace and ally increasing rapidity. For instance, only the
greatest pianists could render the following
very great extent, for most of the marches and rhythmical incisiveness.
passage smoothly and clearly
Melodic Outline and Accompaniment
waltzes which one hears played by bands have
been arranged according to a very straight and
While, of course, the accompaniment must
definite formula. Yet this is not the right way always be subordinated to melody it will be
to arrange for the band, for the orchestra or monotonous and ineffective unless it aids in
for the player-piano. A real master arranger bringing out the beauty or sentiment of the
cannot find in such methods any scope for his principal musical idea. This idea, of course,
imagination, insight or sincerity. It may be laid is not so easily achieved with the player-piano,
down, therefore, as a principle that artistic ar- where the power to differentiate between the
ranging must avoid formulas so far as possible. accentual force of the different voices is de-
Fig. 102
• ;•
Sustained Style
cidedly limited. Nevertheless much may be
This passage is from my "Magic Guitar,"
The player-piano has one great advantage done in this respect, as the passage shown in which was directly composed for the player-
over its precursor, the pianoforte proper. This Fig. 99 plainly demonstrates.
piano. In this example, the intervals are spread
Every melody holds within itself, as it were, closely in some chords and widely in others,
advantage I have discussed already at consid-
erable length. I refer, of course, to the player- its own harmonic expression, and in the case of and the great number of accidentals would make
piano's ability to keep a tone alive after it has the player-piano certainly the harmonic struc- it extremely hard to read and play by hand.
been evoked. The sound of the pianoforte ture should be more than merely subsidiary to Here, of course, is where the great advantage
proper begins to die as soon as it has been the melody, however much the latter stands out. of the player-piano comes in, for the more in-
An accompaniment should always be attractive, tricate a passage is in chromatics, dissonances,
although it cannot assume a primary place. intervals and so on the smoother it will sound
Whether the musical passage involved be broad on the player-piano, especially if speeded up.
and sentimental, sparkling with brilliant orna- Anyone who will play over this last passage
ment, of noble simplicity or tragic intensity, the slowly will at once see its chromatic nature.
player-piano arranger can find materials in his The passage decidedly reminds one of the open-
workshop to take adequate care of it.
ing bars in the third act of "Tristan and Isolde."
Smoothness
I mention this only to show how such para-
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Smoothness is almost inseparable as an idea graphs lose their characteristics when executed
from the complementary idea of speed, just as rapidly on the player-piano with entirely dif-
••i
the ideas of contrast and color are related. ferent intentions. Even violins have difficulty
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With
the player-piano, however, smoothness is in rendering such a passage smoothly in any
a little
not the same thing as it is with the piano proper. tempo. It is of course this rapid execution of
For instance, the ordinary pianist can usually dissonant intervals that makes for the greatest
(Continued on page 12)
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impart sufficient smoothness to an arpeggiated
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P I A N O S
AND
FOR TONE, BEAUTY
AND LASTING
A
ACCOMPLISHMENT
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