Music Trade Review

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The Music Trade Review
decorator just the other day, he made a remark
that very much impressed me. He said that
taste and style are no longer confined to the
Homes of the rich and well-to-do—that one
could go into modest little homes costing from
$7,000 to $10,000, and be amazed at the good
taste displayed in the furnishings and decora-
tive schemes.
Now, gentlemen, it is in such homes—homes
of the great middle class—that we must place
pianos, and I should like to point out to you
that practically no appeal has been made to this
class of customers for a number of years. The
higher class pianos, both straight and art
models, have been extensively advertised and
sales energy put behind them, with the result
that the sales have increased, and about the
only other publicity and sales energy in the
trade, with a few exceptions, has been along the
lines of cheap upright, player or grand, adver-
tised at $285, $385, or $425, as the case may be,
with the lamp and every other catch-can
thrown in.
No appeal, or at most very little and spas-
modic appeal, has been made to the great in-
telligent middle class people, with the result
that the mortality among this class of piano
manufacturers has been large in the last few
years, and the piano merchant, generally speak-
ing, has suffered a loss in sales and profits. If
we are to increase our piano sales, we must
make every effort to interest this class, both
from the standpoint of the use of the piano as
a musical instrument and, also, as a piece of
furniture that will add dignity and beauty to
the home. And certainly no article in the
home, with all the artistic and musical atmo-
sphere surrounding it, better deserves a beauti-
ful encasement than the piano.
The art 1 and period model piano, both upright
and grand, is here, and its sale will increase and
continue to grow, provided both the manufac-
turer and the piano merchant line up their
manufacturing and selling policies in keeping
with the modern trend and existing conditions.
We must be honest with the public by mak-
ing and selling instruments that are designed
properly and in keeping with the styles of the
different periods. The manufacturer cannot
turn some sticks of lumber on a lathe and put
them under a grand piano case, call it a period
model and get away with it. Not only is the
general public greatly interested in home fur-
nishings and decorations, but practically every
magazine, certainly every woman's magazine,
and magazines of home and country life, have
articles by experts on these subjects, so that the
public is being rapidly educated not only to ap-
preciate beautiful things, but, also, to under-
stand correctness of design in any article of
furniture, and the proper use and placing of
such in the home.
Design the Basis
The attractiveness and appeal to the eye of
art styles or period models in pianos is not by
any means due to the amount of money spent
on them. A lot of hand carving and high-light-
ing with a high cost does not necessarily re-,
suit in a salable product, nor one that is either
artistic or beautiful. Simplicity and correct de-
sign, good lines, combined with first-class case
work, proper finish and color, very often pro-
duce much better results. In fact, the present
tendency is away from heavy carving effects
and towards the models of more graceful de-
sign, and this is undoubtedly due to the im-
proved taste on the part of the public and the
fact that a large proportion of the homes con-
structed in the last few years in the East and
Middle-West have been on Colonial, American
or English lines. The Hepplewhite, Sheraton,
Adam and early American designs are in de-
mand. Louis XVI always sells, and on the
Pacific Coast, of course, Spanish styles have a
large sale.
The cost of making period models is, of
course, higher than that of the straight piano,
but this extra cost on the simpler models can,
in my judgment, be brought down as our meth-
ods improve and our production is increased.
Proper and special equipment, and an intelli-
gent personnel in the factory, are essential in
producing these instruments, due to the mul-
tiplicity of styles and the detail work required.
A few makers have already worked out their
manufacturing problems, so that they are able
to produce attractive period models in both
uprights and grands at a comparatively small
added cost, so that their dealers are already able
to offer these instruments to the public at very
little above the retail prices of the plain in-
struments; and this is important as it is the
duty of the manufacturers to produce a product
with a musical quality that will appeal to the
ear, that will appeal to the eye in its design
and finish, and at the same time represent value.
Value for the money is important, as the piano
business is competing not with itself, but with
other lines too numerous to mention.
JULY 23, 1927
Now, gentlemen, art and style and beauty in
piano encasements are here. They are not only
a most important factor in the trade to-day, but
they are certain to become increasingly im-
portant.
We manufacturers must give close study to
improving and extending our styles and de-
signs—you dealers and sellers must develop
new and better methods for promoting their
sale.
To Bring New Life
The art and period model piano unquestion-
ably has the ability through its own appeal of
beauty and attractiveness to rejuvenate the
piano business—to give it new life and new im-
petus—to put it on a sounder and more
profitable footing, and it is up to us to take
full advantage of this* timely and splendid op-
portunity.
Third Week of Kansas City Melody Way
Club Proves It to Be a Big Success
J. W. Jenkins' Sons Music Co. and W. W. Kimball Co., Firms Conducting Event,
Declare Themselves More Than Pleased With Plan
1ZANSAS CITY, MO., July 18.—The Melody
Way Club, recently organized in Kansas
City under the sponsorship of the Kansas City
Star, in co-operation with the W. W. Kimball
Piano Co. and J. W. Jenkins' Sons Music Co.,
is, after three weeks, thoroughly established
here and making more friends all the time.
According to the two music houses conducting
the classes, the club is enjoying even greater
success than they had expected for it, and the
interest continues to run high. The attend-
ance, which showed a slight dropping off
during the first two weeks, has reached a per-
manent figure at this time, and all those now
in the classes are bent on accomplishing some-
thing.
Jenkins' and Kimball's are keeping the in-
terest of the public aroused by various adver-
tising means, and are not allowing the
enthusiasm to lag. Newspaper advertising
done by Jenkins daily features the Melody Way
plan in frequent tieups. Special appeals are
made to the parents of children in the Melody
Way classes. The small Miessner Monogram
piano was the subject of one interesting ad-
vertisement by Jenkins. It was pointed out
that the Monogram was the latest invention
of W. Otto Miessner, the author of the Melody
Way course.
The advertising done by Kimball's has taken
a different turn. Each Saturday since the in-
auguration of the Melody Way Club they have
conducted two classes in the front window
of their store, using ten small children. A
teacher takes the children through the regular
lesson, using two pianos during the demon-
stration.
Each child has a desk with the
cardboard keyboard before him. The set-up
for the demonstration classes with the two
small studio model pianos is left in the window
during the week.
J. D. Mahaffey, manager of the W. W. Kim-
ball store here, says that they are getting
valuable' returns from the Melody Way plan.
Each of the teachers who conduct the classes
at Kimball's co-operates with the store in
turning over the names of children who have
no pianos. These leads are followed-up im-
mediately and Mr. Mahaffey says that they
have had very good results with these pros-
pects.
Permanent Melody Way sets, priced at $2
and including a full course of fifty lessons with
a permanent keyboard and other accessories,
have been featured in window displays by Jen-
kins' at both of their downtown stores and at
their suburban store. The sets were the sub-
ject of a newspaper advertisement recently as
well.
The space given to the Melody Way Club
in the news columns of the Kansas City Star
has been a great asset to Kimball and Jen-
kins' in their advertising work in connection
with the club. The stories have mentioned the
two stores as the places where the classes are
being conducted and have given them much
valuable publicity.
The course will continue for twelve weeks,
lasting through the greater part of the vaca-
tion season. The dealers are convinced that
the fact that many children are being trained
in the rudiments of piano study is the most
valuable thing which could be done for the
piano business and the music business in gen-
eral.
Melody Way Plan to Be
Launched in Pittsburgh
Chronicle-Telegraph to Co-operate With Local
Dealers in Putting Over Group Instruction
Plan in That City in September
PITTSBURGH, PA., July 18.—With the Miessner
Melody Way plan to be launched in Pitts-
burgh early in September with the co-operation
of the Pittsburgh Chronicle-Telegraph, one of
the leading afternoon newspapers of the Steel
City, the music merchants are preparing to
enlist in the movement every dealer in the city
and near by.
Arthur W. Armbruster, president of the
Western Chapter of the Pennsylvania Music
Merchants' Association, to-day issued a call
for a special meeting of piano merchants to
be held at the Chamber of Commerce at noon
on July 22. At this meeting, which will be
presided over by W. Barry Hamilton, of the
C. C. Mellor Co., general chairman of the
Melody Way plan committee, definite steps
will be mapped out for financing the campaign
and securing the services of a competent in-
structor, who will train the instructors who
will be engaged by the various music houses
to teach the children who enroll.
More interest has been manifested in the
Melody Way plan by the local dealers than
any other proposition brought to their atten-
tion in recent months, even Music Week
activities not being excepted.
It is the general opinion of the various mer-
chants who have been seen regarding the
Melody Way plan that it will be one of the
best business producers that has ever been
inaugurated in this section. Practically all of
the piano dealers have engaged the young
vvomen who will act as instructors to the
juvenile students who will enroll at their re-
spective stores. It is planned to have the
instructor-in-chief spend the last week in
August here instructing the various teachers.