AUGUST
25, 1923
MUSIC
THE
TRADE
REVIEW
7
The Art of Playing the Player-Piano
Playing Softly the Fundamental, Yet Nothing Has Been Less Understood- The Salesman Who Knows How
to Control the Pedals of the Instrument Best Able to Impress the Prospective Customer With
Its Musical Capabilities- Artistic Playing Nine-tenths Mastering the Pedal Work
~o 10llg as Ih e iool-p layed player piano co n
tinu es to b e Ih e player of the mas ses , whi c h is
lik e ly t o be forn'Cr, th e a r t o[ playing it s h o uld
n ot be n<',L~kcted,
L,' llf(Htunatcly, indeed, thi s
,l rt is alrea d y Illllch Il eglected and , rece lltl y, h as
s ho\vll si,c; n s of h eine:' almost e ntir e ly i ,:: nored,
:.Ieverlhe less , it will be a bad d ay for the music
Indu s tri es when Ihe last ~e nuin c player -pi a ni s t
is go n e for goo d ,
A few o h scr\'a li o ll s on one a .s pec( of p layint:;
the pla ver -piallo wi ll , therefor e, be not ,vith out
a timelin ess of their own, That to \vh ich we
propos e t o refcr is Ih e ;\I't of playing soi ll y,
()f all Ihe l ec hni ca l points w hi c h perta in t o
th e a r t of pla y in g t h e player-piano a rti st ic all)
1I 0ne ha, be e n less und e rstood t ha n thi s o ll e,
vct none is of g r ea t er illlportance. At the !"a lll e
tillle n Oll e is more eas ily g rasped an d llIastered,
w h <::ll ollc e t h e undeJ' ly in g principles a r c pl a inl ."
ill milld , 1 fan\' f Url h er s tinllliu s \\'e re Il eeded
b es idc" whal has been adduced th e r ea der ma,'
lind furthe r sa ti sfact~on in learning' what i ~ un
doubtedly trll e- th at those w h o b es t know IlOw
to d o artiqic p eda l wo rk on the play e r piano
inv aria blv ar c be s t ,lble to illipr ess CUStOlllcr,
w ith thc s im p li c it y alld c r[eCl' i,'c ll ess of the a rt
of p layillV tit t: pl ayer -pi anu,
No p erso ll who
c,'c r ca r e d cnough about l11u s ic in the home t o
want a p layer-piano ever act u a ll y de s ired t o p la v
it b a dl y or not to pla y it w el l, Th e [('a r that
tit e art is vc!'\' dirii c ul t is the prillc ipa l obstacle;
and Ihe sugges l iOll s iter l' made w ill t end to sho w
lite sa le s lllan 1I0t only Itow t o " do the tr ick"
d-rec ti\'c ly , b ut how to delllonstrate it s Silll
plici t )' ro the prosp ec tive purchaser and titu s
awaken an intere"l w hi c lt wi ll co ntinue to b ear
res ult s , ill purcha sc of IllllSi c r o ll s and 111 g'Cn
era l sat is fac ti on, for year s to CO lli e,
Let it first be r e lll clll h e r e d, t h e n, th at th e ob
j ec l' of pcdal ill ;(' is twofo ld : to prov id e power
for the Illotor and o th er accessor ih and to do
tlte work of st rikin /-! the note s,
T h e powe r
II ccde d for a ll thc lion-speaking clemcnts is
abo u t SO per ccnt of thc tota l effort. A. s impl c
expe rim e nt will show h ow very littl e this actu
a ll y comes to .
A Simple Experiment
I ,l' t a IlIlI Sic roll b e illsert e d and the nlo t o r
"e l at, say, 70, Then le t t h e s ilencin g button
bc d cp r e<;se d so that the ;ti r flo" is <"lIt o fT from
Ih e pnCllllla tic stack a nd the h e ll ows h a,'c noth
in g to do but cxhaust the Illotor and accesso r y
deviccs, It wi ll b e found, i[ th e p layer- pian o
i" ill good co nd ition, that th e wholc rol l ca n h c
made to pass ove r th e tracker b'lr w it h th e
,c r y s li ghtc, t foot dfort, The amo llnt of ac
tual peda ling r e quir ed is abou t as lit t le as olle
can do w ithout goillg' to s leep ovcr th e opera
tion , In o th er words, th e n o n -speaking parts
of the player-p iano opcra!e on a v"rv s li g ht
p h ysica l effort.
,\"ai n, if a s in gle p erforat io n , as on ;t t(,q
rol l, be isolat e d an d th e 110te so und ed it will
bc found th a t , with the b e ll ows pedaled till t lt e
eq u a li ze r closes, fronl fifte e n to six ty sc,'ond s
w ill e lapse b efore th ere is c' no u g h in1cak
thr ough the vc nt of that one no t e to kill thc
\,acuutll in th e c h ("ts, That is another way of
saving t hat to pla y soft ly a nd ge nt ly \'Crv little
ph,"s ica l cffort i,; called for.
:'-Jaw it is precise lv ill it s genera ll y s uppo sed
inability t o play soft ly and gent ly that th e foot
p('dal player -pi ano is condc1l1ncd, .iVIu c h of th e
labor a nd ex pen, e whi c h ha "e bec n lavi , h e d
durin )! recent yeah 0 11 a ut oll1atic extHc'" io ll
mi g ht h ave been s;I\'c d, i f on ly there h ad hcell
a ,,'e n ('ral undcr,l;,n
1I1\'Il t h aI l'i:t v ill :.,: :.,:e ntly ;,,"1 ,Of ll \' is Ilul (J1l1\
CM) bUI III 11th ea,in tlla n ,1 1l ,V o thn "on of
pla v ill <:', \\'hile it is mon' cffe ct iv e f r o lll t h e
sc ll ill,,,' poillt of vie , ..-, T he Jll crc li a ndi si n,c;' S! ','
t e lll of one o f th e 1110St act i ve alld stleccs,, (ul
p layer Ill a nu facluri l1 g- Ilousc s is based up o n j u s t
this Sillipic principle,
Effort and Demand
()f course, i', II IU"t bc ulldc rsL ood that the
physical e ffort in vo lved in (lla .l' in ,~ ;It nor lll a l
nat ll ral lo n c str('n,l! lh depcll(ls ,,1'0 up o n Ih e
1Il1111ber o f lI o tC S ,vhic h arc b eing st rll c k at ,\ny
1I101l1Cllt, as \\T II as upon the speed o[ t h e CO Ill
po s ition ,
In o ther word s, s in ce every not e
s lru ck ill\'olv,<" ,'" ill1c ak o f a ir 10 t h e p laye r
;,Cl io n, \\' h ic ll co ntinuc s "0 lOll! , ," th c perfo ra
ti Oll i:-: :--1i l1 p(t:.-~illg Q\c r th e trac k er -bar, it IS
o b " iolls that th e 1Il 0 r e of the se inl ea k ,s th ere
arc to b e, takcn ca r e of the Jllor c rapidly Illust
0111' ope rat e th e bellows in ord e r to cou llt c ra c t
tilelll. ~o\\', Illodern jazz a nd all olher llIu s ic of
the .
a ,'c r y ;, I'{'at strain up o n the bello"",, capacity, so
Ihat it is dirfie ult not to yicl d to t h e temjlla
ti oll t o plllli p "cry fast in order t o II lake Sllre
0 " ha,' ill .'~ e ll ou ,;' h power at di s po,al. Tlti s , ill
e"itab ly , Ic ads to the 1Il0 s t unlllu s ica l effec t s,
s in ce th e pumpin !:',' is s urc to b e a ct uall y too
fast ;,"<1, Ih erelo re, th e playin/-! far t oo noisy
and "1I,echan ica l"
'Ahell to t lti ' f;, e t is added
tlte further fact that iew ,' ,ti es lll ell ,s ('e lll t o ha ,'c
til e leaS! id ('a 110\\' to \'a ry telllpo fro l11 tilll e
10 ti lll e in accord w ith th e lI ec ds o[ t h e 1I1u sic
it wi ll bl' ,cen w h y so lllu c h player'p ia n o del11
o n stratioll \'io la t es e''Cr~; prillc iple of IIlu s iea l
int e rpr e tatioll ,
It will b e sa iel Ihal Ih c 1I 0\\' ,,1111 0 , 1 Ull in'!',,']
h a lld - pl aynl Illu s ic oh" ia t es Ih c lI eees,i t y for'
IlI a llipu1:ttill >: tlt e t Cll lP O Jc\'e r ; bUI t lti , is b\ n o
'\rli s ti c pla y ill ;! clc lll ancls
nl ea n s c lltir e ly tru e,
indiv id u a l in terpret ation at ,0.11 cruc ial POi llt S,
\Iorco vc r, a !:',' reat llea l of lIlu sic is sl "ai " hl Clit
st ill and will always be s traight- c uI.
The A r t of Soft Playing
llut to ret urn to OUI' pcda lill g, Tlt e ('.\~alll -
pic, c,'i,'e l\ a b o,'c s ho,\ !to 1\' ,'c r y li ttle pltysic;ti
effo rt , cO lllparatively s p ea kin g. is n eeded to <;c t
and k ee p th e lllusi c go ill ~:, The act ua l e ff ort
e~penclecl dcpends, as was said, UpO Il th e IlllI ll
ber ot n otes s Oll ll(lcd al al1\' olle tilllC ;llId al,o
Up OII Itow rapid ly thc"" pa ss 0"('(' th e tracker,
b ar, Tlt e flr"t thin l, t u d o, tll l' lI , ill ka rnin (~
it o,,' t o p lay so ftl" and natllra ll y is to c lt oo " ,'
;111\' si lllp le ,O ll ~ Ill e lo d ." with a ,i lll(1l e aCcOIlI
palliIl H.' llt, if po:--:--ihlc ;, ;· :c cv '" \\' I,: ,,1t tlt e IU I "~
I:or ill,t"n c('. , tak"
is vc r\' cas il y picked out.
olle of tlt e old son,"s , lik e "\V,,\' I )ow n L:poll
tltc :) 11\1" ")(' l' :: i,'<'1"," Tlti , i, so si ll lp le and so
casy tlt at thl'1'C ca ll b e no Irouhle w h ,t! e\ier in
pi c kill :' o ut thc p erforations w hi c lt "oJTcspond
10 I h e Illelody IlOles, Tlte ll tr y to sec with how
litll e ph y~ ica l el'fort at lit e [>('(I;,l s th' r o ll ca ll
be III " d c to travcl an d Ih l.' 1I 0te.' ju ,- t bar e ly to
speak , \fter thi, It as been tricd it ", ill be fou nd
th at Ih e f eet ;II'C sc a r cely IIl o,'ed, so , Io\\' is lilcir
IIl otion, T lt e ll , ;.:o illg' 0,('1" t h e r o ll ;l 3eeo lld
tillle, tr\' t o ki c k on e ither tlt e rigltt o r lit e Icft
hand p e dal ju st a, eac it lIIelod y notc' rea r h l"
th e tra c ker-b ;l r, h UI illlllledi"lcl y befo re it s '1 ,'
tLl a l illcid ence litcr cwith , This " ,ill accellt IIt C
n lc lod\ and, if t h e phv,ir;r1 ki c k is 11 0 1 100 (' 1IL'r
vTtie , \\ ill d o sO quilc a rli st ic; r1l y, 'I'll<' titill e; i"
10 <'l It d o\\ II 11t(' clfo rt t o th e cX;lc l IlIilli lllUlIl
"l lic h \\'i ll su f!i ,,{. 10 ~e t all aceCllt. Thi ~ tak('s
a little pr;l c lie e, for thl' tcnd cncy to lllHill e' ef
forI is hard to 0' e rCOlllt', , trall ge as that "tate
r 11 (' 11
t
Ill;I~'
:--.('C ll1 .
Spur, Not Whip
Frollr lliv 1110111('!l( , 11 0\\ l' \
\ ' 1",
IILI! nll(, ITlI li lC:-
It o" li;lle ;,ell1; ti "nor! i, Ilc" 'lkd 10 ,,1 ;1.' ()rdi
IO a r." " ,usic (l ll e r l'; tii zl'.' ;d,o that the [I('d;ll, ;lnd
be ll ows o"[e r the mo s t r emar k able ri e ld for de
"c lopine; a foot t ec hniqu e for the pl ayer-p iano ,
The qu es ti on o[ artistic pia) ing is nine-tpnths
the que s li o n of ma ste ring the pedal work and
tili:;, in turn, is en tir c ly fo und ed upon the knowl
edge tbat one doe< n ot "dri,'e" the p layer-piano ,
bllt rath er , tilliulate s it b y judic io ll s s purrin g,
\Vh en this poi nt of vic\\' is a ttained the mas
Icr y of t h e p JaY('r - p iano is 110 longe r out of
sight. It i ~ ve r y stra nge th at thi , ,houl d not be
het tcr kn own, Some merchants and
";lY th at thl' peop le li ke a "t!'eadllli l!" p laye r .
This is only" cO Il\ ('nicnt exc u se for cove rin g
up o n c's o\\' n ig' lI or" n cc a nd indifference , If
Ihe people wCI'e taught bet t e r they would know
LClter. Hut tlt c " "Ic,'" le n IIlust lir"t lear n ; a nd
before tlt ey try to do a n vthing e ls e th ey ,hould
ac qui re th e s inl pl e tri c k of pedaling for soft
playin g th at i" for tll('. kind o f playin g 1I10St
people lik e t o think of a s " n atural" and " h a nd
pla'·eel. "
A. B. CHASE GRANDS FOR COLLEGE
Several G rands of That Make Selected for Vari
0us Departments of School of Fine Arts of
Unive rsity of Kansas-Grand for High School
I,,\ \\'RI':l'n;, b:,v"/,, -\ ugust 18. Prof , Ca rl A.
I'reyer , h ead of the Scltoo l of Fin e .\rt s of the
l ~ lIi, ' c r s il \' of Kan,as, ill
this city, recelltly
" i, it cd tlte Iteadquarters of thc J H , Bcll Musie
(,n, anel ,eicr t c d <,(', .... r'll A, I\, C It "se gralld
pi ;11l0~ 1'0 1' Iti s 0\\' 11 u sc and for tlt e equipllle llt
of Ihe s{' h oo !. '\ 1l1 0 1lg' tlte pi;lIloS was a large
,'Ta nd for I'r of, I're."er·s >ludio, as we ll as all
in st ru ll l cnt oi th e .sa llI e tvpc for th e h ome o f tlte
1v1 u I'hi Fra tern it y and o th e r for th c h ome o[
lit e Pi I~appa ,\ Iplta,
T lt e 1'.c' 11 Mu sic Co, al.,o
p ian o r CI'(' ntiv' \0 t he lo ca l h ig h ,;choo l for u sc ill
it s audit o rium
Th e mcmbers of th e Bell Mu sic Co, arc ellt hu
,i a,tic o,'e r tlt e new dea ls , fee li ng tl lat Ih e
se lcction of t h c ,\ , n, ( ' hase g rand ,; for s u c h
prom in e nt cdu cat io nal in s tituti ons ",ill have a
d i,
In and fo r thc):; (: instflll n CT1L:; al11(l n g Inl1si...- lovers.
VATES SHOP CHANGES NAME
Lankers him , C a l. , Conce rn to Be Known a s the
Lankershim Brunswick Shop
1.. ' ,, \1, 1''' ' ' '11 :< 1. C"I." ,\u g usl 21. , J)Ul' to a c hange
of oW ll ers hip , Ihe ) ates ~ Ju sie Shop wi ll , in
Ihe f utu re, be known as th e Lanker s him Brun s
\\' ick Shop, anci tile stock of phonograph!',
p Ian os ;(nd Illu s ica l mcrcilandise w ill be 111 a
leri"IIv' inn e,,,e d, I), E, I,a ll g l"nds and 'vV, H .
;-O;chade canle into possession of the ,tor e SO lli e
1;1'1C "',0 alld it;1\'e a lr ea d y ",su llled ac tiv e
Ili a na geme nt of l h e co n ccr n ,
[vIr, L a n g la nd s
ha t. . bcc1l (ls~ist(t ll t Inanagcr of t h e Illu s ica l Ine r
cil;.tndis(' d e partment of the So ut hern Ca liforni a
:vI u , ic Co , of Los ,\nc;cic, for elevcn years,
:; ltd r ere nll y orc;'a ni ze d a ba nd a t Cu lver C ity ,
CHARLES F. PLUENACHER, SR., DEAD
Charle" F, I'luenac'her, Sr" 111anufactu r er of
lunin g alld Chrono~rap hi c forks and other
aCOlhtir ill <;(rumc lI (-;, died 011 Saturday, .A ugust
II, at lii s h Ollle ;ll Lind c nhur st, I" r. , at the a,'-!'c
oi ('ight v e ig h t, MI', l ' lu cnac h e r h ad been en
gag-cd in til c nl a lluf ac tur e of th ese inst ru ments
for IIl ore tilan h;llf ;, cen tur y and \\':1 S noted for
I I' e d t' lic
'0 ,' ibr;diolls,