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14
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
JULY
15, 1922
take place at the Hotel Severin, Indianapolis,
ELLIOTT CHRISTMAN STILL HIKING
on August 14, 15 and 16. I have not yet seen the
complete program of the convention, although the He and His Companion Last Heard From in
reduced to something comparable with the mak- officers tell me that they have put me down for
Fredonia, Wis.—Farmers Give Them Good Re-
ing of Ford cars. Whatever else it means, it does a paper and an address. But I do hope that
ception—Henry Christman at Asbury Park
not mean uniformity. But it does mean that every tuner who can possibly get to Indianapolis
H. Elliott Christman, son of Henry Christman,
what is done shall be done in the light of exist- will be on hand, whether he be a member or
ing scientific knowledge. My quarrel with con- not. If he comes as an outsider it is ten to one secretary and general manager of the Christman
temporary piano making is not that makers are that he will leave behind him his application, Piano Co., 597-601 East 137th street, New York,
lacking in individuality or even in ambition, al- signed and in some member's pocket ready for is, according to latest accounts, still wending his
though as a mass they do not care as much presentation and examination. But apart from way westward and at the end of last week his
as they should for the idea of improvement as all that, the associated tuners constitute a great father learned he was in Fredonia, Wis., and with
continuous and ever-growing, but rather the quar- organization, which has made a name for itself, his companion making steady strides towards
rel is with the general belief among piano mak- which is exerting for its members and the pro- Yellowstone Park, reaching Terry, Montana, this
ers that the natural sciences have nothing to fession a benevolent and beneficial influence, week. Young Christman and his schoolmate,
teach them that they can use to any practical which has never been exerted before by any or- Herbert Phyfe, are having a great time on the
advantage.
ganization of its kind in our industry. It is cross-co.untry hike and at several places have
The truth, of course, is the precise opposite gradually, but surely, rebuilding the tuning pro- received a very nice reception from farmers and
of this. The physics laboratories of the United fession and setting it once more on its high others who displayed a great deal of interest in
States have during the last fifteen years done an seat. They tell me that the membership is now their trip. In fact, at some points reporters from
immense amount of research into the science of
Hearing 2,000. This is great news. May it soon daily papers were anxious to get a story from
them and also "put their pictures in the papers."
musical sounds. These efforts indeed have been be doubled again!
The boys, however, being on business bent, re-
hampered in many directions by the appalling
fused these honors and calmly pursued their way
apathy of the piano trade; and in consequence
READERS, PLEASE REMEMBER!
westward.
they have been very little either heard of or
That contributions are always welcome, and
The boys will certainly have enough material
put into available shape. Yet they have been
shall always have the best attention I can give for a good book when they return to Manhattan
made.
them. Send them addressed to William Braid in the late Summer or early Fall—for they have
Four Needs Noted
Piano making needs just now especially in- White, care of The Music Trade Review, 373 not revealed their plans regarding their return
Fourth Avenue, New York, N. Y.
trip, and judging from the way they are going
formation on the following matters:
now they may end up on the Pacific Coast.
1.—The behavior of the sound-board; what
Young Christman is certainly receiving good
this element actually does and what its influence
CHICKER1NG PIANO FOR D'ALVAREZ
training as a piano traveler, and is breaking into
is in the making of the piano's tones.
2.—The engineering problems of the design Prominent Contralto to Use That Instrument on the business in good shape, but we venture to
say that when he is selling pianos he will travel
Forthcoming Concert Tour
of the iron plate.
without a knapsack or tenting apparatus and will
3.—The actual behavior of steel strings, cov-
Mme. Marguerite D'Alvarez, prominent grand keep closer to the trains and the good hotels.
ered and uncovered, under the conditions of their
opera
concert contralto, who is at present in
Henry Christman, secretary and general man-
customary excitation, especially as to the causes
of tonal and acoustical irregularities and their Australia, will return to the United States in ager of the Christman Piano Co., New York, left
October to begin an extensive concert tour, de- this week for a couple of weeks' vacation at As-
remedy. Likewise the acoustical problem of
tails of which have already been arranged. Dur- bury Park, where he will have a good rest and at
string lengths and weights.
4.—The behavior of the hammer, especially as ing the tour Mme. D'Alvarez will use the Chick- the same time enjoy the sea bathing.
ering piano exclusively.
to the influence of materials and the question of
Consult the universal Want Directory of
the relations between shape, density and weight
The Cumberland Valley Music & Machine Co., The Review. In it advertisements are inserted
and the vibratory motions of the strings.
free of charge for men who desire positions oi
If and when satisfactory results have been ob- of Harlin, Ky., has purchased a building at 116
any kind.
tained from scientific research into these ques- Main street, which it will occupy shortly.
tions, piano making can be firmly, without either
increased cost of production or large preliminary
expenditure, converted into a progressive and
living craft.
THE CELEBRATED
No Mechanical Quarrel
There is no need to quarrel with factory meth-
ods as such, save insofar as they tend to destroy
individual skill and substitute for it a dull me-
chanicization of the entire process. But in re-
spect of the millwork, of the cabinet making and
of the finishing (varnishing, etc.) the adoption of
(FELTEN & CUILLEAUME)
precise mechanical method is not to be attacked.
On the contrary, it is to be encouraged in every
way. My quarrel is precisely with the manner
in which the aid and assistance which physics
can give and is ready to give has been spurned,
so that piano makers commonly grope helplessly
in the endeavor to improve the tone of their
pianos when they might easily accept and make
IN BLACK, RED and GREEN
use of the best scientific research. That is my
LABEL BRANDS
HUMMACHER.SCHIEMMER 1
case for improvement of piano making; not a
revolution in mechanical work, which indeed is
being well and truly done for the most cart, but
a recognition that tonally most pianos are very
poor and that their regeneration can be accom-
plished so soon as their makers will bring them-
T h e " F & G " Blue Label Brand is again being
gelyea to take advice.
used by Rudolph C. Koch in the manufacture
It iat fqr the purpose of showing what actually
of the Reinwarth Covered Bass Strings
ean be done here and now to bring about great
tonal improvements in piano making that I am
writing the articles which I call "The Improve-
ment of the Piano." I do not claim to possess
For TUNERS and REPAIRERS we have the
any secrets or to have any knowledge not shared
convenient one quarter pound clamps
by many. I simply claim to be a voice crying,
ji not in the wilderness, at least in a sparsely pop-
ulated land, where the hearers are few and greatly
engrossed in their own occupations.
OUR TECHNICAL DEPARTMENT
(Continued from page 11)
F&G
F&C
IMPORTED
MUSIC WIRE
IS UNEXCELLED
HAMMACHER 9 SCHLEMMER&CO.
THE TUNERS FOREGATHER
This seems to be a good time and a good place
tc remind readers that the annual convention of
the National Association of Piano Tuners will
PIANO AND PLAYER HARDWARE, FELTS AND TOOLS
NEW YORK SINCE 1848
.
4th Ave. and 13th St.
3