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Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
VOL. LXXVI. No. 11 Published Every Saturday by Edward Lyman Bill, Inc., 373 4th Ave., New York, N. Y.
Mar. 17, 1923
Single Copies 10 Cents
92.00 I'er Year
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The Reproducing Piano's Place in the Trade
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N December, 1908, less than fifteen years ago, a group of player-piano manufacturers met in Buffalo
and decided upon a standard tracker bar for 88-note players, with a view to simplifying the problem
of supplying music rolls and enlarging the roll libraries available to the public. This meeting marked
the real launching of the 88-note player as it is known to-day and serves to emphasize the great stride
that has been made in piano and player production within a decade and a half.
Within that period improved interpretative devices came first; then hand-played rolls, and finally the re-
producing piano, the instrument that provides the actual reproduction of the playing of great pianists without
depending upon the musical knowledge or ability of the individual player owner.
For those who are inclined to comment freely to the effect that the piano trade shows little or no real
progress with the passing of years, the advance from the crude player of 1908 to the magnificent reproducing
piano of to-day affords an anwering argument that cannot be questioned.
The reproducing piano as an instrument has performed two definite functions—first, it has opened a
field of demand formerly closed to the ordinary player-piano by providing'for the discriminating music lover a
means of hearing the actual playing of piano virtuosi in his home and without the necessity of interpretative
effort. And, secondly, it has played a definite part in raising the standard of public appreciation for music
through the medium of the concert stage and the recital hall.
It is doubtful if the reproducing piano will ever, as some claim, completely replace the straight piano
and the ordinary type of player-piano, but the steady advances in the development of that instrument and the
introduction of models within the reach of the average purchaser place it more and more in the role of
competitor.
The reproducing principle is not in any sense a new one, but the successful adaptation of the principle
to a practical commercial basis has come about so comparatively recently that even those engaged in the pro-
duction and improvement of such instruments are not yet fully aware of all its possibilities.
Ten years ago the sale of an instrument for $3,500 or thereabouts was considered a matter of unusual
interest and worthy of special comment. It meant that the purchaser insisted upon a special design in a con-
cert grand and it showed wealth and a willingness to spend. To-day the sale of a reproducing piano at from
$2,500 to $3,500 is an ordinary matter. The public is fast being educated to an appreciation of this instru-
ment, not so much through general advertising as through actual demonstration, and the progress that has
been made by the instrument, particularly within the last five years, is to be credited to the foresight and energy
of those manufacturers who have been willing to make the heavy investment required for such exploitation.
A very substantial number of piano retailers at the outset or shortly thereafter realized the sales possi-
bilities of the reproducing piano and the new and exclusive field it opened up to them. These men, of their
own initiative and through the co-operation of the manufacturers, have built up businesses which have proven
distinctly profitable. This has meant a heavy volume of sales from a financial standpoint with a greatly re-
duced unit turnover. In other words, greater returns for less actual selling effort.
The retailer who, to-day, does not appreciate the position of the reproducing piano and take the neces-
sary steps to include such an instrument in his stock is simply ignoring the trade trend and playing into the
hands of competitors. If he is doing a good business with his line of straight and player-pianos the reproduc-
ing piano will'bring in new business. If his trade is unsatisfactory the reproducing piano, by opening up a
new field, is likely to make it satisfactory.
In short, the reproducing piano, though the youngest member of the pianoforte family, has progressed
far beyond the experimental stage. It is a factor of the trade that should be, and fortunately is, generally
recognized.