PRESTO
presto
THE AMERICAN MUSIC TRADE WEEKLY.
Published Every Saturday at 417 South Dearborn
Street, Chicago, Illinois.
C. A. DAN1ELL and FRANK D. ABBOTT
• Editors
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SATURDAY, JUNE 28, 1924.
THE SINFUL SAXOPHONE
A bit of brass, in much the shape of a horn
of plenty, with a little reed to vibrate and pro-
duce sweetly sensuous sounds, has been
placed, by an Episcopalian prelate, among the
Satanic wiles. The saxophone, as innocent as
the Pipes of Fan, has been condemned by no
less an authority than Bishop Walter T. Sum-
ner, formerly dean of SS. Peter and Paul
Cathedral, of Chicago, in these words :
"Illegal alcohol, gasoline, and saxophones
seem to have taken the place of the saloon, the
lake excursion boat, and the roller skating rink
as menaces to youthful morals."
To one who has struggled to subdue the
stern of resistance of the sax, to anything like
undue familiarities, the bishop's arraignment
seems severe. It is so unlike the customary
opposition that persists in making the sonor-
ous saxophone merely an accompaniment to
the syncopated vices and not in itself a star
offender. And it will surprise most of us to
learn that the saxophone is "illegal" at all.
As a matter of fact, there is no musical in-
strument that can fairly be classed with the
things of evil. It is not so long ago that or-
gans were regarded as agents of the devil, and
many church councils would not permit them
to enter the sacred portals. Today he would
be a very dull deacon, and a very petty par-
son, who would not be proud to tell of the
weekly organ concert—even the half hour of
music just before the Sunday evening services.
The saxophone is no worse than the organ.
It is not employed for purposes of "excursion
boats" and dance halls more than a small per
cent of the use that is made of its classic little
brother, the yiolin. But no one has a fit about
the fiddle in its power to "destroy.
The habit of talking ill of the saxophone is
a sort of ascetic contagion. There is more
throbbing in the sax than in anything save the
military drum. And there is nothing that stirs
the emotions that cannot be enlisted for pur-
poses in conflict with its best uses. Scandal-
izing the saxophone is not a sign of deep piety
nor proof of the courage of the crusaders. It
is a harmless member of the musical family,
even if it can be made to suggest naughty
things when used to lead in a robust negro
band of jazz artists. And even then it's not
the sax that's vicious, any more than church
wine is poisonous because too much of some-
thing like it has been known to make wise men
seem foolish.
A FULL WEEK
It is a full deck—this many-sided co-ordi-
nation of all the phases of the music and
trades as represented in the many associa-
tions originally organized to function sepa-
rately. There are so many arms to the Mu-
sic Industries Chamber of Commerce that to
crowd all of the interests into a few days'
convention is a large contract. In the early
days, before the agile Mr. Klugh proposed
the combination of associations, the problem
was a comparatively simple one. Today the
man of the trade, and even the manufacturer
who is concerned with more than one branch
of the business, finds it difficult to divide
himself up to the best advantage.
When the piano manufacturers organized,
in 1897, there was no consideration of a deal-
ers' association. The sheet music publishers
had already organized, but they didn't think
of any affiliation with the manufacturers of
pianos. Their business was so remotely as-
sociated with the industries of music that the
sheet music men considered their problems
and perplexities in the light of specialization,
and went about them accordingly. Today,
everything, from pianos and pipe organs to
sheet music and manufacturers' supplies, form
a sort of cousinship, and the whole family is
invited to get together simultaneously.
Perhaps it's the best way. Many believe
that it has already been so proved. Others
seem to long for a return to the earlier way,
when the men directly concerned held their
own meetings, discussed their own affairs and
paid the costs of their own conventions. But
that might be turning back the wheels of
progress; and nothing like that can be made
to fit the progressive music industry.
A PRETTY PICTURE
It is only a mental picture, to be sure, but
it is a picture of reality, nevertheless. And
it has to do with the oft-discussed anomaly
of sentiment in business, or industry. Until
comparatively recent days the impression
made by the word "factory'' was one of piles
of brick surrounded by unsightly heaps of
sawdust, rusted metals and other refuse. But
now that has changed. It has changed not
only in the activities of the things of art and
music, but in the commoner or more utilita-
rian associations. For, no matter what the
nature of the factory, it is frequently the case
that surroundings are made attractive by the
hand of the gardener, actuated by the refine-
ments of the men in actual charge.
Of course, of all the industries, that of
music must more clearly suggest the proba-
bility of fittingly beautiful environment. And,
where of old the piano factories were as unat-
tractive and as city-crowded as any of the
others, of recent years this has changed.
There are now piano plants so surrounded by
green foliage and bright blossoms as to al-
most suggest the palatial private homes. It
would be easy to name such piano factories
June 28, 1924.
and in the names would inevitably come to
mind the kind of sentiment that thrills also in
the music of the instruments themselves that
issue from the factories.
And it is a sentiment that is inseparable
from the piano of real musical excellence. The
latest example, and the one that conjures the
pretty picture of this editorial, is at Water^
town, Mass., a suburb of Boston. It was re-
cently sketched in a news item in Presto, de-
scriptive of the fine new Vose factory, with
thirty-six apple trees planted in the factory
yard. Each tree commemorates the faithful
services of a man who has devoted his life to
Vose pianos and to making them better as the
years have passed.
Apple trees in a factory yard! What in-
dustry other than that of piano manufacture
could suggest such a thing? Where are there
manufacturers outside the making of the beau-
tiful things of music that could have had the
thought? Apple trees in the factory yard—
it's as fine as the Vose piano itself.
TUNERS' CARRYING CASE
CONTAINS FULL OUTFIT
Hammacher, Schlemmer & Co., New York, An-
nounces Convenience for the Use of Piano Tuners.
Tools, hardware and accessories for the piano and
player have always been associated in the minds of
the piano tuners with Hammacher, Schlemmer & Co.,
New York. Numerous commodities of proved con-
venience for the tuner and repairman have been pro-
duced by the company and each one in turn has been
HAMMACHER, SCHLEMMER & OCX'S NEW TUNERS'
CARRYING CASE.
a proof of the continuous interest in the require-
ment of their work by Hammacher, Schlemmer &
Co. The latest aid for the tuners is a carrying kit
shown in the accompanying cut. The following is
a description of the Tuners' Carrying Case, made by
Hammacher, Schlemmer & Co.:
The outside dimensions are 15j^ inches long, 7
inches wide, 8 inches high. When closed the alu-
minum trays nest together over the large compart-
ment which measures 13%x6x4 inches. The two
left-hand trays measures 1 3 ^ x 2 % x l ^ inches. The
two right-hand trays have partitions which can be
moved hack and forth or taken out altogether. The
case is leather covered, fitted with a substantial lock,
and all the hardware is nicely nickel plated. It
sells for $13.00 f.o.b. New York."
TO CONTINUE BRANCH.
Following the securing of the services of B. J.
Powell to manage the Logansport, Ind., store, the
Pearson Piano Company, Indianapolis, which pre-
viously had stated the branch would be discontinued,
announced this week that the business would con-
tinue to operate as it has in the past. Mr. Powell
comes to Logansport with an enviable record of
many years' service in the sale of musical instru-
ments.
B. K. SETTERGREN RETURNS.
B. K. Settergren, president of the B. K. Settergren
Piano Co., Bluffton, Ind., returned last week from
New York City, where he had been attending the
music trade convention and supervising the display at
the McAlpin Hotel of his grand pianos, which re-
ceived many compliments from both dealers and
manufacturers.
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