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THE
VOL. LXXXI. No. 17
REVIEW
Published Every Saturday. Edward Lyman Bill, Inc., 383 Madison Ave., New York, N. Y. Oct. 24, 1925
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Chamber's Directors and Merchants
Executive Board Meetings
Next National Convention, Which Will Be Known as the Anniversary Convention, Will Be Held at the
Hotel Commodore, New York, Week of June 7, 1926 — Merchants' Executive Board Discusses
Musical Education in the Schools and Closer Affiliation of Local Associations
T a meeting of the Board of Directors of
the Music Industries Chamber of Com-
merce, held in the offices of the Chamber
in New York on Friday, October 16, plans were
made for an active season and a number of
matters of trade importance were discussed.
One of the outstanding features of the meet-
ing was the launching of a campaign designed
to provide instruction in the playing of musical
instruments in every grade school of the coun-
try. The move was the result of a resolution
presented by the Executive Board of the Na-
tional Association of Music Merchants, and the
matter was referred to the Advisory Committee
of the National Bureau for the Advancement of
Music for consideration.
It is the belief of tlie officials of the Mer-
chants' Association and of the Chamber that
instrumental music lessons in schools will have
a direct effect on the future demand for instru-
ments, for, being trained to play, the children,
upon growing up, will require musical instru-
ments as a means of expression. Attention was
called to the fact that a number of music edu-
cators, particularly Otto Miessner, of Milwau-
kee, have developed instruction plans that may
be put into effect at very low cost and still
achieve remarkable results, as has already been
demonstrated in schools and by individual mu-
sic merchants. This educational work will be
given definite consideration at the next meeting
of the Board.
The Hotel Commodore, New York City, dur-
ing the week of June 7, 1926, was decided upon
definitely as the place and date of the next con-
vention of the music industries. The contract
with the Hotel Commodore reserves all the ex-
hibit space rooms for exhibit purposes and
makes it available only to members in good
standing of one of the associations comprising
the Chamber.
The Chamber, through a special committee to
be appointed by President Jacobson, will com-
pile and issue a manual containing standardized
technical terms for the various parts of pianos
and playing mechanisms. The request for such
a manual came from the National Association of
Piano Tuners, who, in a resolution adopted at
their recent convention in Detroit, stated that
there now exists a deplorable confusion in the
piano and player-piano industry on account of
the various names applied to the separate parts
of these pianos, and that this confusion mili-
tates against technical efficiency, both inside
A
and outside the piano factories, and stated that
there was a real necessity for standardization
of such terms. Representatives of piano manu-
facturers on the Board of Directors testified to
the confusion to which the tuners referred, and
said that frequently it was difficult to fill orders
for piano parts from merchants and tuners on
account of the inaccuracy of terminology used.
The tuners also called the attention of the
Board to the fact that 1926 is the second cen-
tenary of the perfecting, by Bartolomeo Cristo-
fori, of the hammer action with escapement and
check which made the harpsichord into the
pianoforte, and that this invention by the in-
genious Italian instrument maker constituted an
essential step in the development of the piano
into its present wonderful form, making possible
the creation of modern piano music and all that
depends upon it. The Tuners' Association re-
quested that the Chamber seize upon the oppor-
tunity thus presented for celebrating this his-
torical event in a way which would promote
public interest in piano tuning and in musical
art generally. The Board instructed President
Jacobson to appoint a committee empowered to
arrange for a suitable commemoration of thi$
event during 1926, and particularly to endeavor
to get this event featured in the publicity re-
sulting from the 1926 Convention, National Mu-
sic Week and such events as the approaching
Philadelphia exposition.
Apparently, 1926 will be quite a year of com-
memoration, for it was also brought out that
it will mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of the
National Association of Music Merchants and
the tenth anniversary of the Music Industries
Chamber of Commerce. It was the opinion of
the Board that the next Convention should be
an "Anniversary Convention" and that the im-
portance of the creation of these organizations
and their accomplishments during the past quar-
ter century and decade, respectively, should be
brought to the attention of the entire music in-
dustry in a suitable manner.
The Board approved the petition to the United
States Inter-Coastal Conference for a rate of
$3.75 per cwt. from the Atlantic ports to the
Pacific Coast on musical instruments—wind or
string—and musical instrument cases.
The remainder of the meeting was largely
taken up with discussions of legislative matters,
particularly in proposed legislation which would
protect the so-called instalment regulations of
the Treasury Department, in the elimination of
excise taxes on automatic pianos and the con-
tinuance of the compulsory mechanical license
clause from the Copyright Act, which the music
publishers are attempting to eliminate.
A particularly interesting feature of the meet-
ing was the apparent optimism of the members
concerning future business. Piano manufac-
turers generally report heavy orders for im-
mediate delivery, and most manufacturers ex-
pect quite a period of good business. The new
types of phonographs are awakening great pub-
lic interest and the heavy demand of the last
few years for band and orchestral instruments
is continuing.
The meeting was well attended, the following
members of the Board of Directors being pres-
ent: President E. R. Jacobson, Walter W. Clark,
A. K. Gutsohn, H. C. Dickinson, E. H. Droop,
E. Paul Hamilton, Hermann Irion, Max J. de
Rochemont, C. Alfred Wagner, Henry E. Weis-
ert and Arthur L. Wessell.
Merchants' Meeting
A NUMBER of matters of general trade
**• importance was taken up by the Execu-
tive Board of the National Association of
Music Merchants at its first meeting since the
convention which was held in New York on
Thursday and Friday of last week, October 15
and 16, but no feature was of greater importance
than the suggestion and endorsement of a defi-
nite program for the development of more gen-
eral musical education in the schools through-
out the country.
The Executive Board presented the plan to
the Board of Directors of the Chamber of Com-
merce and advocated its adoption at the earliest
possible moment. It was suggested that sup-
port be given to the plan of class instruction
such as that originated by Otto W. Miessner,
of Milwaukee, or some similar plan for the
teaching of musical instrument playing. It is
believed that increased attention to public school
music instruction will not only prove beneficial
to the cause of music generally but will have a
distinct effect in preparing and enlarging the
future market for musical instruments.
Closer Affiliation of Associations
A stronger affiliation of national, State, re-
gional and local associations for backing up the
promotion of music and other service work for
the improvement of trade conditions is con-
(Continued on page 18)