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Musical Merchandise Section of The Music Trade Review
Class Instruction in Musical
Instruments Popular in Milwaukee
jV/IILWAUKEE, WIS. — Milwaukee music supplied by the school board, holding that they
*•**• dealers are interested in the formation of come under the class of a "luxury" and are not
classes in band instrument teaching in the Mil- necessary. The attitude on other items such as
waukee public schools as well as in the group the drums, saxophones, horns, etc., seems to
piano classes and violin classes which have hold that these are more of the "bread and
been organized, and which will have perhaps a butter" instruments in the life of a child, and
these will be furnished as a regular thing.
larger enrolment than ever before.
The Milwaukee schools offer lessons in musi-
One music dealer, in commenting on it, while
cal instruments from excellent teachers for the feeling that the buying of the school board
small sum of ten cents per week. The lessons might well be extended to harps as well as to
are given after school hours, and in schools all the other instruments, believes it noteworthy
over the city at about three-thirty of a week- that the board is willing to supply the more
day afternoon one may visit classrooms and see familiar instruments to young people who wish
youthful musicians ranging from the small tots to learn to play.
of eight and ten years to the big boys and girls
"It is this development in modern education,
in the high school of seventeen and eighteen. ir. which music is gradually taking its rightful
Then on Saturday morning children from all place, that is going to build up the piano, and
parts of the city gather in one school for prac- the band instrument business, and keep it on
tice in the all-city orchestra, while practically a high and level plane," said this retailer. "An-
all schools are developing their own bands.
other big value of this school music, in my opin-
With the formation of classes new instru- ion, is the publicity it gives band instruments.
ments have had to be purchased both by parents Perhaps we retailers are lax in trying to get our
share of publicity, and do not use our minds
and by the Milwaukee school board. The school
board furnishes bass drums, saxophones, horns on this subject as much as we do on radio. At
or other instruments for ambitious young musi- any rate band instrument teaching, and interest
in playing instruments is kept before the public
cians who cannot afford to buy them.
One interesting development coming up with eye locally at least, largely through the men-
the formation of the new music classes early tion it gets in school work."
in the Spring of this year was the request for
More than 3,000 students in the public schools
several thousand dollars to be used in the pur- have taken up the study of orchestral instru-
chase of instruments for school bands and or- ments in the special public school music classes.
chestras. Unfortunately this item had been The instruction given includes every instru-
overlooked in the 1929 school budget, and the ment except the banjo and ukulele.
finance committee of the board was making up
Officials in charge of school music report that
for the deficiency. A request was made for a the piano ranks first in popularity in these
number of harps, but the school officials and classes, stringed instruments second, and band
board decided that these instruments cannot be instruments third.
Sales Can Be Cultivated
Says Fred E. Larson
"The excellent response in the way of in-
creased sales to general promotional work done
by manufacturers in behalf of band instruments
(including drums) and fretted instruments of
The Ree-lax Golden Hawaiian Guitar Steel is
sweeping the country—because it it the only
guitar bar that gives perfect satisfaction. De-
signed by an expert player for those who have
difficulty in holding the steel, and guaranteed to
improve the playing. Made from a special, non-
friction tone metal, gold in color, that does
not cut the strings—will not peel off, become
scaly, rust, or tarnish. Provides a smooth, re-
laxed action—unequalled by any other steel.
Ree-lax steels come packed 6 to the carton
accompanied by an attractive display card—for
$3.00. They retail for $1.00 each. Test sales
prove they sell in preference to any other steel.
This is an article which sells itself to every
guitar player—right off the counter. Good mar-
gin-—quick turnover. Send now for full carton,
or single steel at $.75—on a 10-day money-back
guarantee basis. Hail your order today!
REHRIC MANUFACTURING CO.
2630-B Compton Ave., Los Angeles, Cal.
The
REEIAX STEEL
late shows what can be done if sales are prop-
erly cultivated," said Fred E. Larson, general
manager of Ludwig & Ludwig, to a representa-
tive of The Review. He continued: "And equally
good increases in sales of banjos can be made
if general promotional work to the public for
the banjo is done by the trade as a whole.
"Many dealers fail to realize how well band
and fretted instruments are, but those makers
and dealers who have been doing this promo-
tional work know and have profited by it. Look
at the surprisingly big sales of ukuleles result-
ing from that special offer of vacation ukuleles
made by manufacturers of those instruments.
While their plan was originally intended to be
confined to a period before June 1, it was ex-
tended to July 30 because each of these manu-
facturers found it brought an unexpectedly big
response.
"Not only did they sell a vastly greater num-
ber of these vacation specials than anticipated,
but the dealers, reflecting the response from the
public, also ordered and sold large numbers of
more expensive ukuleles and other types of in-
struments. The point is that the public was
interested in this special offer and the dealers
found it easy work to sell other instruments.
"The banjo, for example, needs more publicity'
—more promotional work from the trade as a
whole. All banjo makers are equally interested
in this and all of them would profit in the way
of greater sales if they put the right effort be-
hind it, and I am certain that the dealers would
have the same pleasant experience that they
have had from other promotional work.
"Ludwig drum publicity brought to and kept
before the public the quality of Ludwig drums.
We find an unexpectedly great public interest
in the drum as a musical instrument and our
library of drum publications, originally started
at the suggestion of professionals, now covers
every phase of the subject. One might think
that there was only a limited market or interest
in the drum as an instrument, although it is
one of the oldest, perhaps the oldest, musical
29
instruments, yet we sell an increasingly large
number of our various drum publications and
find a constantly widening interesting in drums
and drum music, with a correspondingly steady
increase in the sale of drums.
"And the banjo, if brought before the public
through general promotional work, will also find
an increased number of buyers."
Legionnaires Make
Good Banjoists
(Continued from page 28)
want private instruction, thus giving the teacher
some additional pupils.
"At the annual musical revue held this
month hundreds of tickets were sold which
shows the interest that the public evinced in
the band and the Post. This excellent showing
was also due to the great amount of publicity
given the Post's banjo band in Chicago news-
papers. I feel that this is a progressive step
towards selling more musical instruments and
plan to carry the idea out with other local
posts."
It is not difficult to estimate the great amount
of valuable publicity that would accrue to the
banjo in particular, and music in general, if
every stringed instrument dealer secured a sim-
ilar amount of publicity in his local community
in working up banjo bands with this country-
wide organization, the American Legion.
It is a well-known fact that the various Posts
are active in promoting good will and fellow-
ship and have many activities which receive
the notice of the press in which the banjo bands
would take an active part. For instance, they
entertain their comrades in hospitals, give
musical reviews, are in parades and in many
other ways are before the public, tlow impor-
tant it is then that a banjo band should be
featured with all these activities.
A wave of publicity sweeping the country
about the musical feats of this organization
would no doubt stimulate other organizations
to imbibe the spirit that has gripped this Chi-
cago Post and lead to a great musical expres-
sion. Any effort given by the individual dealer
in his community would certainly pay good
dividends just as it has proven profitable with
this Chicago dealer.
THE FRANK CATALOG
JUST OFF THE PRESS
describing three distinct lines of quality
band instruments of our own manufacture
for the Professional, School
Musician and the be-
ginner—a combination
no dealer can af-
ford to overlook.
Write for
your copy and
dealer proposition
WILLIAM FRANK CO.
2029 Clybourn Ave.,
CHICAGO
ILLINOIS
Manufacturers to the trade since 1909