Music Trade Review

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VOL. LXXXUI No. 25 Published Every Satirday. Edward Lyman BUI, Inc., 383 Madison Are., New York, N. Y., Dec. 18,1926 «•«&£•»£' i l S - t o
Ampico Club Proves Active Selling
Factor for the Snyder Go.
i
Wilkes-Barre, Pa., Retail Music Firm Through Organization of Children in Its Territory Finds Direct Access
to Their Parents—Series of Lectures and Discussions on Music and Illustrated With the
Ampico, Which Are Held Regularly in Store, Prove Widely Popular
T
H E value of the reproducing piano as a
factor in the musical education of the
child has already been generally recog-
nized, a fact that is proven by the many
installations of instruments of that type in
schools, conservatories and other similar insti-
tutions where music appreciation in elementary
and advanced forms is included in the curricula.
The ability of the reproducing piano to portray
actually for the benefit of the student the
interpretations of the great artists as re-
corded by them personally is of undisputed
value.
But the use of the reproducing piano for the
instruction of youngsters outside of school
hours and in a close tie-up with a retail piano
business is a somewhat new channel for pro-
motional work that has been developed by the
Snyder Music Store, of Wilkes-Barre, Pa., and
fits in particularly well with the present na-
tional campaign that has been launched to
develop a wider interest among children gen-
erally in the piano and piano music.
Some time ago the Snyder Music Store or-
ganized what is known as "The Ampico Club,"
the purpose of which is educational and the
membership of which consists entirely of chil-
dren. Twice each month during the Fall and
Winter season invitations are sent to children
throughout the city to attend the meetings of
the Ampico Club. These are held in the com-
modious auditorium in the Snyder store and
the large number who respond to the invitations
on each occasion emphasizes the interesting
character of the club work and its strong ap-
peal to the youngster.
A different type of program is provided for
each meeting and careful thought is given to
the arrangement of the material. At one ses-
sion it may be a discussion of the music of a
certain composer, whose work is illustrated by
tneans of selections played on the Ampico, the
music being stopped at frequent intervals so
that various passages may be explained in a
way that is understandable to children. Fol-
lowing the various explanations the- selection
is played through in its entirety and without
interruption. At another meeting the history
o-f the development of the piano through its
various stages is explained and carefully illus-
trated. Other subjects include the lives of
composers, all presented in a way to interest
the child and with the Ampico as the illustrate
ing medium; the study of the various instru-
ments of the orchestra; or an explanation of
the parts used in making the various instru-
T\E ACHING the children is to reach the
J.\ parents—that is a well-known axiom in
retail musical instrument merchandising.
The Snyder Music Co., Wilkes-Barre, Pa.,
has successfully achieved this through the
organization of an Ampico Club, the mem-
bership of which is limited to children who
meet regularly in the auditorium of the
store to listen to lectures and discussions on
musical topics, all of ivhich are illustrated
by the Ampico. The details of this organ-
ization are given with this article.
ments, the manner in which they are assembled
and their specific purposes. Where possible the
services of some recognized artists are secured
to carry on the musical discussions and to illus-
trate the various points so that the children
may visualize what they are being taught.
When the lecture has been concluded, blank
sheets of paper are passed around among the
children and the lecturer then asks a number
of questions referring to the particular subject
that is being discussed. The children write
down their answers and prizes are awarded to
those who turn in the most correct papers,
these taking the form of some inexpensive
musical instrument, such as the harmonica or
ukulele, or perhaps a piece of sheet music or
a book on music. One of the secrets of the
large attendance at the various club meetings
is in the fact that as the children pass out
each one is presented with some little souvenir,
such as a bag of candy or a toy.
The Snyder Music Store finds that the opera-
tion of the Ampico Club pays actual dividends
in sales, for not only do the children influence
their parents and friends in favor of the com-
pany and the product itself, but they themselves
are frequently accompanied to club meetings
by their elders, who gain an entirely fresh
and worth-while reception of what the repro-
ducing piano can offer in an educational and
entertaining way, something of its operation
and facts regarding music and musical instru-
ments generally that develops interest to the
buying point. It has been found that a sur-
prising number of sales of substantially priced
instruments may be attributed directly and
indirectly to the Ampico Club meetings.
The concert hall in the Snyder establishment
seats some 200 people and is equipped with a
stage, in connection with which a special light-
ing system has been installed. The company
itself in its concerts makes use of various-
colored lights that harmonize with the charac-
ter of the music, for it is found that
the interest of the listener can be increased
by the use of this sympathetic lighting. The
plan has proven so successful that a majority
of the music teachers who make use of the hall
at frequent intervals for their school and class
recitals have also adopted the lighting system
to improve the character of the pupils' work,
or at least to put the audience in a receptive
frame of mind.
It is found that the frequent use of the con-
cert hall by teachers proves a most satisfactory
means of building up a live and worth-while
prospect list, for during the season several
thousand people attend the recitals in the hall
and the salesmen make it a point to get ac-
quainted with as many of these visitors as
possible without in any way making use of
persistent sales methods or making nuisances
of themselves. Many people who visit the store
to attend the recitals come back to buy when
they reach the buying point, and the teachers
who make use of the store's facilities in prac-
tically every case have proven energetic
boosters.
The development of the Ampico Club idea
is particularly interesting in that it has served
to develop contact with a class of people who
cannot be readily approached through ordinary
publicity or promotion work. The Snyder
Music Co., for instance, found upon analyzing
its territory that the bulk of the people are
foreign-born and that any sales campaign must
be designed to appeal to that type of citizen.
(Continued on page 4)