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IN THE WORLD OF MUSIC PUBLISHING
Conducted By V. D. Walsh
Music Exploitation by Means of the
Moving Picture Theatre Presentation
Three Broad Divisions Are Marked in Music in the Moving Picture Theatre, Comprising Popu-
lar Music, Standard Music and Specially Written Material
' • S HERE are really three divisions of music
in motion picture theatres. All of these
have their importance and all of them aid con-
siderably in arousing the interest of music lovers
and thereby creating sales for the retailer.
Roughly these three divisions cover three
types of compositions. They are popular,
standard and specially written material. The
photoplay house lays much importance on its
music programs. On the other hand, both the
popular and standard publishers find this form
of propaganda equally important.
This end of the music business is really huge
today and it is steadily growing in size. There
are over 18,000 motion picture houses in the
country and the majority of them have an or-
chestra of either small or large size. In addi-
tion many are equipped with modern organs
and all of them, of course, have pianos.
The development of the popular song, through
the aid of the photoplay orchestra or the or-
ganist, is not the simple matter today that it was
several years ago. It is much more involved
than the plan and arrangements which popu-
larize songs through the means of the vaude-
ville theatre or the concert,stage. Popular songs
today in the best photoplay theatres are often
staged affairs. They are programmed in elab-
orate presentations with the results that the
effects produced, particularly where there are
solo voices and choruses, are the same that
would be attained in the average musical comedy
or revue. In some instances they even have a
more powerful attraction due to the fact that
the contrast with the balance of the program
finds the audience in a more receptive mood.
The other type of popular presentation is that
produced by the aid of the organ and the multi-
colored slides. This feature of a photoplay
program is not the simple affair of several years
ago where a title of a song was thrown on a
screen and the series of slides depicting the
progress of the song-story followed. Today
the slide and organ programs are really a fea-
ture. Some of the most recent of these song
presentations with slides use as many as forty-
eight "flashes." These include an introduction,
the words of the song itself combined with the
music, the various needed illustrations and a
built up performance with many little side
"scripts" that add considerably to their value.
The photoplay orchestra uses-considerable ma-
terial from standard and classic catalogs. There
are two phases in this type of photoplay music.
The first of these are old standard numbers and
the compositions which were written by stu-
dents of the photoplay orchestra needs in con-
junction with motion picture presentation, and
which, when properly used, carry out every
movement, action and speech of the picture.
In more recent years there has been a newer
branch of musical composition and that is the
writing of special music for particular motion
pictures. One of the leaders in this line of en-
deavor is Dr. Billy Axt, who is associated with
the Capitol Theatre, New York, one of the
pioneers in staging elaborate presentations and
the musical programs of which are of a very
high order.
Dr. Billy Axt's name on a musical theme for
a feature picture immediately commands atten-
tion among conductors of photoplay orchestras.
He is a specialist who, through his daily con-
tact, is well equipped to contribute just the right
type of musical hook-up with the picture. He
has written the scores of many of the biggest
film successes of recent years, including "The
Big Parade," "Ben Hur," "The Merry Widow,"
"Mare Nostrum," "La Boheme," and "Don
Juan." These have all been considered, perfect
scores by musicians who have given any thought
to film presentations.
All of this latter type of music is copyrighted
and published by Robbins-Engel, Inc., and
proves a new source of revenue to the com-
poser. The royalties from the sales created on
this type of music reach a large figure. So film
music, as a special field of endeavor, holds a lure
for the composer who carries the inspiration
and mental equipment to successfully develop
music of this character.
SONGS THAT SELL
—
Because I Love You (Irving Berlin)
How Many Times? (Irving: Berlin)
When the Red, Red Robin Comes Bob, Bob,
Bobbin' Along
I'm on. My Way Home (Irving- Berlin)
—
That's a Good Girl (Irving Berlin)
Elsie 8hultz-en-heim
Susie's Feller
At Peace With the World (Irving Berlin)
I Never Knew What the Moonlight Could Do
—
I'd Climb the Highest Mountain (If I Knew
I'd Find You)
I'd
Love to Meet That
Mine
Old Sweetheart of
Remember (Irving Berlin)
Always (Irving Berlin)
—
—
Let's Make Up
But I Do, You Know I Do
Who Wouldn't?
In the Middle of the Night
Blue Bonnet, Y'ou Make Me Feel Blue
Roses Remind Me of You
"Whistle Like a Meadow
Lark" Is Featured
Tonight's My Night With Baby
Put
Your Arms
Where They Belong
Poor Papa
Gimme a Little Kiss, Will "Ya," Huh?
Forster Music Publisher Display Material Used
to Good Advantage by the Retailers
Say It Again
If You Miss Me as I Miss You
Oh, Boy, How It Was Raining
Forster Music Publisher, Inc., recently issued
some particularly attractive circular matter and
window pasters on its song, "Whistle Like a
Meadow Lark." That the investment in this
And Then I Forget
1 Found si Round-a-bout Way to Heaven
Pining for You
I I> and Down the Eight-Mile Koail
That's Annabelle
No More
Worryin'
Old-Fashioned
Sal
Pretty Cinderella
BOOHS THAT SELL
X
—
New Universal Dance Folio
No. Vi
Ready Oct. 20th to 25th
Peterson's Ukulele Method
World's Favorite Song's
Tiddle De Ukes
Strum It With Crumlt
Irving Berlin's Song Gems
From the Musical Comedy Sensation
"THE COCOANUTS"
Featuring "Whistle Like a Meadow Lark"
display matter was well worth while is shown
by the fact that wherever they have been
shipped the retailer has made immediate use
of them.
Herewith is given the window in G. C.
Murphy Co.'s store at Indianapolis, which, even
in its reduced form, shows very effectively the
window pasters advertising the Forster song.
The display of sheet music has a number of
other selections placed to attract attention, but
the display matter on "Whistle Like a Meadow
Lark" appears to dominate.
The other songs shown in this display are
"Bye Bye, Blackbird," "Hello, Aloha," "Out of
My Dreams," "Hi-Ho, the Merry-O," "Looking
at the World Through Rose Colored Glasses."
Consult the Universal Want Directory of
The Review. In it advertisements are inserted
free of charge for men who desire positions.
43
Tlng-aling the Bell'll Ring:
Why Do You Want to Know Why?
Florida By the Sea
The Monkey Doodle Doo
Lucky Boy
We Should Care
IRVING BERLIN, Inc.
1607 Broadway, New York
Epochs in Musical Progress
Published by Ditson Go.
The Oliver Ditson Co., Boston, has just pub-
lished a new volume of "Epochs in Musical
Progress" by Clarence G. Hamilton, A. M.,
representing the fourth year of a study course
in music understanding adopted by the National
Federation of Music Clubs. The volume is com-
prehensive in character, profusely illustrated,
and takes the reader through the various stages
from the primitive music to that of the present
day. It is written in a popular vein and repre-
sents a desirable music text-book.