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AUGUST 21, 1926
The Music Trade Review
Charles A. Deutschmann Again Heads the Tuners' Association
(Continued from page 5)
and of the instruments upon which they work.
"And yet, simply saying he will charge so work and who read a paper at the Wednesday
He explained that without competent tuning much for such and such a job does not end the session.
not only would the manufacturers and dealers matter. He must sell his prices to his customers
Constitutional Changes Ratified
suffer, but the teachers, students and artists as well as his work."
President Beutschmann asked that the con-
who used the instruments would be forced to
Finals of Player Playing Contest
vention ratify the changes in the constitution
give up. It was knowledge of his business, he
The morning session came to a close with worked out by the council on Monday, chief
said, that the piano tuner was selling.
the finals in the Standard Pneumatic Action among them being the provision for the elec-
In the course of his talk Mr. Pollard dwelt Co.'s player playing contest, with six con- tion of two additional vice-presidents, one in
upon the relations between the tuner and the testants still in the race. Each contestant chose the Far East and one in the Far West. The
dealer, and also emphasized the need of having his own piece from the QRS Co.'s collection changes were ratified without debate.
a thorough understanding of piano tuning and on exhibition. Later in the day A. K. Gut-
Deutschmann Again Heads Association
repair costs so that adequate compensation sohn, of the Standard Co., announced the win-
The nominating committee then presented thel
could be demanded. He urged tuners to use ners of the contest as follows: First, E. D. following names for election: Charles A.
every means possible to give publicity to their Kains, of Reading, Pa.; second, Ralph Hawley, Beutschmann, Chicago, president; Edgar L.
work and cited as mediums newspapers, cir- of Fairmont, W. Va., and third, C. H. Bowling, Seagrave, St. Louis, first vice-president; A. V.
cular letters, talks before clubs and other or
of Newark, O. Each winner received a silver Minifie, Detroit, second vice-president; W. F.
ganizations, attractive business cards and any- cup, and Mr. Gutsohn announced that a similar McClellan, Chicago, secretary; Lester Singer,
thing that will keep the tuner's name and pro- contest would be an annual feature of the Chicago, treasurer; M. Garwood, New York,
fession before the prospect.
tuners' convention.
vice-president of Eastern Division and M.
Among the many things which must be con-
Sixteen New Divisions Chartered
Sparrow, Los Angeles, vice-president of West-
sidered in working out a price schedule, said
The afternoon session opened with the an- ern division. Members of council: C. T..
Mr. Pollard, are:
nouncement that sixteen new divisions had re- Backus, Minneapolis; Charles Merkel, Mil-
"First, the present necessities of life for a ceived charters during the year as follows: waukee; Emil Koll, Cincinnati; George Steger,
man's self and his family. He must consider Portland, Ore.; Wheeling, W. Va.; Oklahoma Peoria, and B. Wurstner, Cleveland. All officers
that the number of years he may hope to City, Okla.; Baltimore, Md.; Washington, B.C.; and council members were elected by acclama-
be actively engaged in his profession he must Boston, Mass.; Cleveland, O.; Pittsburgh, Pa.; tion.
not only support himself but lay aside a surplus Springfield, 111.; Benver, Col.; Houston, Tex.;
Resolutions Adopted
large enough to care for him in old age or in Newark, N. J.; New Orleans, La.; Los Angeles,
The association went on official record as
case of mishap.
Cal.; Seattle, Wash., and Reading, Pa.
endorsing the piano promotion campaign of the
"Second, it is only right for him to receive
L. M. Poarch, of Indianapolis, spoke on the National Piano Manufacturers' Association and
a percentage of recompense for the years he necessity of four tunings per year made neces- pledging its support to that move. It also en-
has spent as an apprentice, probably at a lower sary by modern heating systems in homes and dorsed the work of the National Piano Tech-
salary than he might have earned at some other there was considerable discussion but no action nicians' Association and pledged support and
trade.
taken regarding the necessity for further pub- further co-operation in technical work of all
"Third, current expenses, such as his car, its licity activities to be taken by the association kinds. The president was directed to urge all
operation and depreciation, and the necessity for or divisions individually.
officials to celebrate, in a fitting manner, the
its ultimate replacement, his shop rent, or taxes,
Frank W. Hale, of the Tuners' Supply Co., Cristofori Bi-Centennial, this year. New York
as the case may be, his telephone and his ad- awarded his annual prize of any selected tool was selected as the next convention city after
vertising.
for the tuner who during the year has done a close fight, winning the honor by a vote of
"All these costs enter into every job and the most deserving action, to E. B. Smith, a blind 330 to 303.
price must be made accordingly to assure a tuner of Boyne City, Mich., coupling with his
Before the final session of the convention had
profit.
name that of his wife who assists him in his concluded over 1,000 members had registered.
Piano Promotion Outstanding Topic at Michigan Dealers' Meet
who had for his subject: "Millions Making-
Music," and who told graphically of the great
progress being made in the introduction of in-
struction in musical instrument playing in the
public schools of the country. He, as usual, had
some interesting and impressive figures at his
command and gave to the Michigan dealers
much information that he has already offered
to groups of music tradesmen in other sections
of the country.
Mr. Miessner declared that 15,000,000 Ameri-
can school children heretofore have been with-
out any musical instruction whatever. The re-
sponse to such instruction when the chance
offers is proven by the tremendous enthusiasm
shown in the harmonica revival and the mar-
velous growth of high school bands and orches-
tras. He declared that the change in the situa-
tion had been brought about by the fact that it
has been proven possible to teach children to
make music in school classes just as other
skill is acquired, and stated that the Detroit
schools for some years have taught practically
all the band and orchestra instruments to chil-
dren in classes at public expense.
The speaker called attention to the number of
cities in which children are learning to play the
piano in classes at school, sometimes without
cost, on which basis all such instruction will be
carried on in future, and in other cases at a
nominal charge of from 10 to 50 cents a week.
According to the last census there were 25,000,-
000 children enrolled in the public and paro-
chial schools of the United States, and of this
number some 22,000,000 were in the elementary
grades, a great proportion of them in city and
village schools where the opportunity for class
piano instruction was most pronounced.
(Continued from page 3)
Mr. Miessner emphasized the vocational
value of music instruction to the pupil in pro-
viding a means of livelihood and told of the
extent of music as an industry, from both the
trade and professional angle. He declared that
more people will buy pianos when more people
play pianos. The food purveyors, through their
propaganda of "Eat More Bread," "Eat More
Fruit," "Eat More Cheese," etc., have changed
American diet during the past decade to a
tremendous degree. So have drinking habits
been changed by the manufacturers of various
thirst quenchers. The same applies to clothing
and to the .home, all going to show that intelli-
gent and persistent propaganda must have a
stimulating effect upon business. The members
of the music trade, and particularly the piano
men, must come to a full realization of this
fact and music must be brought to the public.
In closing Mr. Miessner outlined the new
methods of class piano instruction that served
to gain and retain the interest of the pupil and
give him a quicker grasp of the instrument
through the medium of class instruction. The
secret of the Melody Way is that of making
piano playing a pleasure rather than a task. He
went into some detail in showing how the
method operates.
Mayor Addresses Conventioners
At the Tuesday luncheon Hon. .^cj|iri V\ .
Smith, Mayor of Detroit, made a felicitous
speech of welcome which was followed by a
brief program of entertainment.
Tuesday Afternoon Session
The afternoon session was marked by tin-
presence of 268 public and parochial school
pupils who gave an hour's musical program.
These were the winners of the piano-playing
contest and at the conclusion of the program!
they were formally awarded their prizes,
namely, gold finger rings to district winners,
and silver rings to individual school winners.
Details of the Contest
Following the program Roy Maypole, who
has had the general direction of this extensive
school contest, described the contest's organiza-
tion. The information given by Mr. Maypole
will be found on another page of The Review
this week.
Piano Playing Contest Awards Made
Owing to a heavy rain storm it was found
impractical to hold the grand finale of the
piano playing contest in the open air in Belle
Isle Park as planned, and the program was
therefore carried out in the ballroom of the
Book-Cadillac Hotel. Owing to the limited
space in the ballroom only a few hundred spec-
tators could crowd in to witness the affair in
comparison to the thousands who had planned
to attend the function if held at Belle Isle.
Those who could not attend, however, had the
privilege of hearing the results of the contest
broadcast through two radio stations.
There were seven children in the final con-
test, six girls and a ten-year-old boy. They
played their own selections and after long de-
liberation the judges, Lee Simms, Otto C.
Muehlhauser, W. Otto Miessner, Edmund Gram .
and Borothy Miller Buckwitz, awarded first
honors to Judith Bisorsky, who thus became en-
titled to the first prize of a grand piano of her
own selection and a trip to New York City.
When Chairman Maypole asked her what piano
(Continued on page 16)