Presto

December 26, 1925.
MUSIC AS SCHOOL
STUDY IS OBJECT
Year Just Closing Resulted in Greater Atten-
tion to Causes of Piano Indifference and
the Beginning of Movements of Trade
for Amelioration of Conditions.
CLASSES IN STORES
PRESTO
Byrne, vice-president and general sales manager of
the Steger & Sons Piano Mfg. Co., Chicago, to
establish an annual series of piano playing contests
for children of primary school age and more advanced
pupils in every town and rural community. The plan
suggested is that involving state recitals to pick the
best in the successful pupils in the local contests to
send to Washington for the finals. The scheme has
the encouragement of prominent piano men and offi-
cials of state and national trade associations.
PAGE ORGAN CO. BUYS
BIG LIMA, 0., FACTORY
An Important Phase of the Efforts to Reawaken In-
terest in Piano Was Spread of "Melody Way"
Plant Established in Defiance, O., About Three
Method of Child Instruction.
Years Ago to Occupy New Location
Early in 1926.
With class instruction in instrumental music well
started in the schools throughout the country, the
The Page Organ Co., Defiance, O., has purchased
parents of the thousands of boys and girls may no
longer find it necessary to bribe the children to take the plant of the Rhoda Mfg. Co., Lima, O., and will
music lessons. That feature of the schools and the move their business to the latter city early in 1926.
The purchase included all of the buildings and land
increasing adoption by music houses of the "Melody
Way" of teaching piano were the notable facts of the Rhoda Body and Manufacturing Co., together
marking the music encouragement efforts during with the machinery and material on hand. This mate-
rial is now being worked into bodies for which
1925.
A great army of children now enrolled for class orders have already been received. As soon as the
instruction in the schools and the enthusiasm of the holdings now in the plant have been worked up, the
students has made a bigger army of boys and girls manufacture of organs will begin.
In acquiring the plant, which consists of a modern
anxious to learn to play something. Instruction in
the piano seems to be the most popular course among factory building 50 to 200 feet, power house and
the girls but the boys do not let the girls monopolize other small buildings, the organ company also took
over the adjacent land, upon which it is proposed to
the hours of piano instruction.
add new structures in the near future.
Bears on Trade Conditions.
The organ company began operations at Defiance
In these facts lie influences of momentous bearing about three years ago and has enjoyed a steady in-
on the survival of the piano as an instrument of gen- crease in the volume of its business, Page Maus,
eral use in American families. It is a phase of school president of the company said this week. Under a
study that interests in a vital way the music dealer new plan of distribution, the product of the company
of today and his successor of the days to come. will be handled through dealers in each city in the
Class music instruction in the public schools is a new United States in which agencies will be established.
departure in many sections and the plain duty of the Inquiries already have been received concerning sales
piano dealer everywhere is to take an active part in connections in all parts of the United States, Canada,
its encouragement.
Mexico and European and South American countries.
Transfer and taking of larger quarters has car-
Piano First.
From a consensus of reports the violin runs second ried with it a material increase in capitalization, it
to the piano in the class studies in the schools. Other was announced. The directors of the company are
orchestra instruments follow in an order that varies Fred Cook, Walter Scott, F. J. Banta, Frank Kom-
with the locality. In all the studies in t'.ie Flint, minsk, B. E. Tabler, A. W. Wheatley, Page Maus and
Mich., public schools no pupil of a private music P. M. Hulsken.
President Maus declared that the organ business is
teacher is allowed in the classes. The rule eliminates
from the classes the children of well-to-do parents still in its infancy. He pointed to the great growth
who can afford to give their children the advantages in the business of manufacturing residence organs
of private instruction. In that way, which is ob- since many homes have begun installing them. Thea-
served in many other places, the private teachers are ters and churches also are daily adding to the organ
assured that the system will not conflict with their field.
D. M. Lamson, present, factory manager in the
profession.
Defiance
plant, will continue in the same connection
What Dealers Did.
after the plant has been removed to Lima.
The importance of systematic encouragement by
The stock in the company, it was explained, is held
dealers of piano instruction for children has been fre- for the most part by Lima residents, with the re-
quently pointed but b y W . Otto Miessner, president mainder owned in Defiance.
of the Miessner Piano Co., Milwaukee, who is widely
known as an ardent proponent of the "Melody Way"
method of child instruction in the piano. During the
year 1925 he has continued to be a potent influence in
arousing piano dealers to the gravity of the condi-
tion which his method of interesting and teaching
the children would ameliorate.
Salesmen Who Can Interpret What Lady of the
The piano class as a means to arousing and con-
House Says Do the Business.
tinuing interest in piano instruction has been adopted
"It is listening to women that teaches us to speak
by a large number of progressive piano merchants
during the year now drawing to a close. Mr. Miess- to men in such a way as to worm our way into men's
will," said a piano salesman to a Presto representa-
ner, in various ways, has made known the causes of
some of the piano trade ills, has pointed out the seat tive one day last week. "Now, I'm a house-to-house
of the canker that threatens to undermine the piano man, else I'd let you use my name. I let the lady
do most of the talking. She wants a piano or she
industry.
wants to exchange the old one and buy a better one,
An Awakened Effort.
which amounts to the same thing. She's a 'pros-
The individual efforts of piano firms to encourage pect.'
piano instruction in the public schools by private
"I don't need to worry to find out how to handle
teachers and in classes in their own stores shows
her
husband on the deal, for if I let her talk she'll
the awakened effort to face the fact. They have put
purposely
drop hints on how to do that. It's not his
in practice the theory that demand for the piano is the
result of desire for piano music. The merchants in the weak points that I want to know, but his strong ones,
year coming to a close, were faced with the fact that and these I am led to understand by the conversation
of his wife or daughter. I'm a good listener; it's
piano music was losing out. That a fair number of
years
since I talked myself out of a sale."
them realized the condition by taking effective steps
to ameliorate it, is encouraging.
PIANO TRADE NEEDS
MORE GOOD LISTENERS
Chamber Takes Part.
To include the teaching of music, including the
piano, was the object declared at a meeting of the
Music Industries Chamber of Commerce October 16.
It was the beginning of a campaign with the object
of having music study adopted in every school when
a resolution from the Executive Board of the Na-
tional Association of Music Merchants was referred
to the Advisory Committee for the National Bureau
for the Advancement of Music, with instructions to
bring the board plans for such a major activity of
the Chamber.
In line with the movement of the Chamber and in-
dividual dealer is the scheme proposed by Charles E.
PHIL. WYMAN VISITS CHICAGO.
Phil. Wyman, publicity manager for the Baldwin
Piano Company, Cincinnati, was in Chicago on Sat-
urday last, where a Presto representative ran across
him in the office of H. C. Dickinson, vice-president
of the company. The retail department of the Chi-
cago Baldwin establishment is very busy just now
selling instruments for Christmas week delivery. The
recently re-built fourth floor is attracting many visi-
tors and piano customers. It is one of the finest
salesrooms in Chicago.
R. J. COOK APPOINTED
HEAD OF DIVISION 34
Active Official cf The Cable Company Made
Chairman of Important Committee of Chi-
cago Association of Commerce.
At the annual election of the Ways and Means
Committee, Division No. 34, of the Chicago Asso-
ciation of Commerce held last week, the committee
appointed by the Ways and Means Council to nomi-
nate chairmen and members of the division committee
for 1926 reports as follows:
For Chairman: R. J. Cook, Cable Piano Co.
For Vice-Chairman: Jas. T. Bristol, Jas. T. Bris-
tol Co.
For Members: W. C. Griffith, Chicago Talking
Machine Co.; Chas. W. Litsey, Lyon & Healy, Inc.;
Albert Page, Q R S Co.; Henry Weisert, Bissell-
Weisert Piano Co.; F. P. Whitmore, W. W. Kim-
ball Co.
New Business
for 1926
Miessner Piano Opens
Untouched Sales Fields
The Miessner Piano and our ad-
vanced plan of selling this excep-
tional small instrument open up a
great, big, new field of sales and
profits for dealers.
This new business does not inter-
fere in any way with your regular
piano sales. It means profits that
you are not getting now and cannot
get with anything but the Miessner
and the sales plan behind it.
Return the attached coupon today
for "The Miessner Markets" and
full information about Miessner
sales opportunities.
Miessner Piano Co.
126 Reed St., Milwaukee, Wis.
THE LITTLE PIANO WITH THE BIG TONE
MIK8SNKR PIANO CO.,
]2 Gentlemen:
Please send me Miessner catalog, "The Miessner
Markets," and full information about Miessner sales
opportunities.
Name
Name of Store
A piano department has been added by the J. S.
Shapiro Department Store, Mount Union, Pa.
,
.'
Address
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