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THE PIANO
IS Coming Back
Says EDWIN R. WEEKS, President,
National Association of Music Merchants
(Written Exclusively for The Review)
In addition to the two reasons stated in
this editorial foT this revival, it may be said
that history repeats itself, that many things
travel in cycles, that the pendulum swings to
and fro, and it is on these aspects of the sit-
uation that I would fain dwell.
The stores of Weeks & Dickinson and that
The whole town nightly thronged the rinks
and this new form of amusement caused
piano sales to fall off and pessimists back
HE day that the Binghamton Sun
there said, "The piano is doomed." But un-
carried the Associated Press announce-
like even Jack Dempsey, it came back. Then
ment which gave the home folks to
came the era of the bicycle with riders
know that I had been honored at the
thronging the streets and cinder paths. In
Chicago convention with this office, it also
mastering this new-fangled contraption some
had in the same issue an editorial, inspired
riders fell off, but that was as nothing com-
by observation, as follows:
pared to the way the piano business tem-
porarily fell off.
T H E PIANO COMES BACK
This is just another cycle of
Then a young inventor just in the blush
"When player-pianos were followed by
of promise, Thomas A. Edison, conceived the
phonographs and radios many people gave
unfavorable business for the
idea that sound could be recorded on tin foil
up the piano as a vanishing instrument.
and reproduced. Later the tin foil gave way
'Before long,' they said, 'it would be as ex-
piano man to live through and
to a cylinder of soft wax which in turn gave
tinct as a dinosaur.'
way to a hard flat disk. Improvements in
"Piano factories here and there had to go.
conquer, declares the opti-
the mechanism that carried these recordings
out of business. It was a gloomy decade for
combined to give the piano another tempo-
piano teachers, musicians, and factory
mist from Binghamton
rary setback, but, as before, temporary only.
workers.
And then came along a more devastating
"Now comes a change.
enemy. An instrument that did not require
"People are buying pianos again for their
hours of tiresome practice to master. It
homes and having their children learn to
of Barrett Bros., whom it succeeded, have needed only the turn of a dial to have some
play them.
"There may be many factors in this re- been selling musical instruments in Bingham- mysterious force reach up into the ether, and
vival. One is surely the new methods of ton and surrounding territory for nearly sev- select from a myriad of every type and kind
group instruction. Another quite likely is the enty years. For now going on a half a cen- of music a solo, a duet, a trio, a quartet, a
familiarity by that supposed arch enemy, the tury, Louis F. Donley, the dean of piano symphony or what will you, and bring it
radio. As people learn to enjoy hearing salesmen in this vicinity, has been connected down to earth to make glad the hearts of all
piano music, they also learn that it is even with these two music houses, and it is his ex^ mankind.
For ten years following the war our coun-
perience and knowledge of conditions in the
more fun to play well themselves."
This article was so terse and so much to earlier period, added to those of the writer try went on a drunken financial debauch.
the point that we had copies sent to all the in the latter years, that serve to establish the This was followed by two years—just past—
papers in our trading area and many of these fact that the pendulum of the piano is swing- by a headache and a hangover or what we
are pleased to term it in a more dignified
copied this article as a news item, including ing back.
(Please turn to page 22)
First, the roller skating craze fell upon us.
translations in an Italian and a Polish paper.
EDWIN R. WEEKS
T
A NEW STANDARD OF PIANO VALUE
BASED ON BUILT-IN QUALITY
Every piano designed and built under the personal supervision of Gottlieb
H e l] er —founder of the company. Not how cheap, but how good, is the
slogan. Value plus.
The details are important—write for them NOW!
New York, N. Y.
863 East 141st Street
THE
MUSIC
TRADE
REVIEW,
August, 1931
II