THE
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VOL. LXXVn. No.4.
Single Copies 10 Cent.
$2.00 Per Yea r
Edward Lyman Bill, Inc., at 383 Madi"son Ave., New York, N.Y. July 28. 1923
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Piano Contest Can Accomolish
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IlE music industries for the past several years, both through the effo'rfs of the National Bureau for the
Advancement of Music and thro~h those of individual 'm anufctcturers-"an!idealers, have been conduct
ing a consistent propaganda to further the grantiti'g~ i:J"f ' credi~" for outside music work in high and
grade schools,
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... ,.. '
Unquestionably the universal adoption of this sys!$m would be a"di'rect incenti ve fOI' the average parent
to g ive the child music lessons, a condition which in t(i l:n would be refiected- in~ a greater demand for musical
instruments of all types,
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In this work, good as it has been, there has been little direct incentive offered the schools to allow such
credits in thei r requirements. Yet such an incentive is vital if only to present the plan in such a manner to
the school boa rd s and faculties that they may consider ' i t"' c()ne r~ so far as its general advantages are con
cerned.
The suggestion of The Review that a national com~ itionJ9{ piano students who are enrolled in schools
granting such credits be held in conjunction with the annual convention of the music industries which takes
place in New York in 1924, according to an impressive body of opinion in th€ trade as expressed in letters to
this paper, would playa large part in giving such a COl1crete in.dntjve to:;. the..urthera nce of this movement,
as, properly handled, it would enlist the interest of schools in practically eyery section o! the country.
There is no doupt that this plan; 'fhoug-h;'it is but ~~~, has...alread.l taken a strong hold on
the imagination of the trade and industry'. ' Those who have nst:;tt~~.t~~ idej.ls t.!,l{qn At, and they include a
number of the most prominent manufacturers and dealer"'s in the industry~ see in it 'n~ o nly an opportunity to
obtain a large amount of publicity for ·the piano itself, but al so a : direct" thapc~ ~o ","ajvance. the study of that
instrument among the younger generation. It is also o;-rectly in line"Wi~Ii _ we mutual aim of the industry and
of the musicians to raise the cultural standard of music in Ute average child's edw;:ation and to g ive it more
importance in the curriculum which prepa res the child JQ r
perhaps the most important factor in spreading musical appr~tjon among the great mass of the people and
fundamental in increasing their demand for the products w~ ch col\ile frOlTI the musical instrument factor~es.
The contest idea has always been among the most" ~c ient and airect means of achieving this end.. 'The
outstanding example in this country was the band tournal1)en~ school and juvenile bands, which was held
at the Chicago convention of the music indust r~s this ~ ' ~successful was this contest, and so direct have
been the results in the short time since it ''''as held, that ~ Band In-strtltnent Manufactl1rers' .\ssociati on, wh ich
promoted it, has decided to renew it annually henceforth.
In Great Britain the contest idea has long been an established feature of that country's musical life. It
has been one of the great factors in creating a musically :J.ppreciative public there, a publ ic which not only
knows hO\", to li sten to music properly, but usually plays some musical instrument or is active in choral or
ganizations. The advance of the contest idea in Canada during the past fevv years has been remarkable ancl
already it is exercising a considerable reacti on upon the public there.
~\ contest, such as The Review has suggested, presents no insuperable difficulties of organization.
In
fact it is a simpler matter than the band contest which was so successfully conducted in Chicago this year. It,
of course, will probably require regional elimination contests, but, judging from some of the letters received
by The Review, local deal ers or associations could be depended upon to handle t~ese,
A national piano contest, closed to students in grade and high schools granting music credits, would
unquestionably be the first step in bringing the competitive spirit ,into the musical life of this country on a
national scale, something which as yet does not exist, and would as unqu estionably lay the g roundwork for an
extension of the contest idea until it became a great factor in:making the American peopl e more musical.
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