Music Trade Review
Issue: 1899 Vol. 28 N. 17 - Page 6
Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
8
zines and periodicals. These have been
referred to the local agents from whose
territory the inquiries came.
ij.Sueh work on the part of manufacturers
must surely be appreciated by dealers and
this accounts in a large degree for the
intense loyalty which exists everywhere
for the Vose product.
\X IK now and then note exhibitions of ex-
otic frothiness on the part of the
Annex editor towards the stencil question.
On this whole subject he has always acted
the conscienceless and conceited hypocrite.
The idea of attacking some obscure dealer
who is handling stencil pianos is absurd.
Asjong as stencil pianos are manufactured,
dealers will continue to handle them. You
cannot purify a stream unless you attack
the source.
The Review has always condemned the
illegitimate stencil as a fraud upon the pur-
chasing public, but held that the legitimate
stencil while opening the door to misrepre-
sentation, was purely a matter of business
between the dealer and manufacturer, and
th-itt the latter in the course of time would
see that it was to his material advantage to
discontinue that particular line of his bus-
iness. The man who builds pianos for
every dealer is building nothing fa^him-
self: His business structure is of thA.rriost
flimsy character, and may be demolished
by riew competition to-morrow.
"This cannot be truthfully said of firms
whose wares have a marketable value.
The value of an asset which lies in the
good will or trade mark of an institution
is'always to be considered as embodying
rnaterial and permanent worth.
Hilton Piano to Cuba and China.
Captain Burbee, U. S. Military Com-
mandant at Campe Chula, Cuba, has writ-
ten from the Cosmos Club, a military
organization of U. S. officers at that place,
to the Milton Piano Co., thanking them
for having shipped an ordered instrument
promptly, and acknowledging its safe ar-
rival. Incidentally, he says that the
members of the club are delighted with
the piano sent.
• Another letter received at the Milton
factory- orders four instruments for im-
mediate shipment to Tientsin, China. One
Milton piano is already installed at Tient-
sin and the additional orders are from
friends of the possessor. Since the first
shipment of Milton pianos to the Gmibel
waferooms, Philadelphia, many sales have
been made.
The business of A. B. Clark of Fair-
mont, Mjnn., will hereafter be conducted
under the firm name of A. B. Clark & Co.,
a half interest having been sold. They
recently nioved into larger quarters.
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
Prof. Gate's Discoveries.
WILL BE ABLE TO CONSTRUCT AN INSTRUMENT
THAT WILL PRODUCE MUSIC NEVER
DREAMED OF HITHERTO.
That there is a distinct relation between
emotions and musical notes has long been
recognized, and thus the line of investiga-
tion already described merges naturally
into some very remarkable experiments in
regard to music. Professor Elmer Gates,
the distinguished scientist declares that he
will be able to construct an instrument
that will produce such music as has never
been dreamed of in the world hitherto. It
will represent and comprise the effects of
all instruments now known, as well as of
many others never devised.
He says;
"When Music, heavenly maid, was young,
she was full of discords and imperfections
which, now that she is nearing her mar-
riage with science, should be dropped for
the more perfect emotional expression de-
manded by the purer, truer and better
music of the future."
It was discovered long ago by the famous
German, Von Helmholtz, that the emo-
tional qualities of music depend upon what
are called the "overtones" or "harmonics."
You cause a wire to vibrate, say, at the
rate of sixteen times a second, and it gives
forth a note. At the same time, however,
certain portions of the wire may actually
be vibrating thirty-two times a second,
sixty-four times a second, and so on, thus
producing the overtones. For every fun-
damental note there are at least fourteen
of these overtones. Those of them which
represent the lower numbers of vibrations
produce in the music solemn, mournful
and majestic effects. The middle over-
tones give effects that are a mixture, as of
smiles veiled by tears, while the harmonics
of high vibratory rates are joyous and gay.
In a piano the same fundamental tones
and the same overtones are employed for
playing a dirge as for a "coon song" or
other joyous melody. There is no modi-
fication of the harmonics to adapt them for
the expression of suitable emotion—an
obvious absurdity, as anyone may see. If
it were practicable to produce the funda-
mental tones pure and simple, and to as-
sociate with them the overtones, such of
them as were wanted, in any arrangement
that might be demanded, effects could be
obtained which are wholly beyond the
reach of the present-day piano, or of any
other musical instrument now known.
This, however, is exactly what will be ac-
complished by the instrument which Pro-
fessor Gates has devised. Each funda-
mental- tone is struck by itself, and like-
wise each of the harmonics belonging to
that tone. With the aid of a proper arrange-
ment of stops, apiece of music performed
on it may begin with sadness and wind up
with laughter, thus obtaining a new kind
of musical climax.
Helmholtz said that the power of music
to express emotion depends upon the over-
tones. This has long been recognized as
proved beyond question, and it is well un-
derstood by musicians to-day that the low
harmonics are those of mournfulness and
solemnity, and that the high harmonics
are those of joy. Well, then, Professor
Gates proposes for the first time to utilize
this knowledge by applying it in a practi-
cal way for the production of musical ef-
fects. The music of the future will be a
music of the emotions; it will touch the
human heart as no music hitherto has ever
done. With its aid a skilled composer will
be able to play upon the emotions of a
throng of auditors as upon a harp, rousing
them to patriotic fervor, drawing from
them their tears, or plunging them, if he
so chooses, into agonies of despair.
Professor Gates has found that most hu-
man voices, even the best, have in them
only about one-half of the overtones which
are so necessary to the emotional quality
in music. He has discovered that this con-
dition of affairs maybe greatly improved
by a certain process of training the emo-
tions of the singer, who, by encouraging
the experience of tender emotions, aesthetic
emotions, and various other kinds of moral
emotions, produces in his or her brain alter-
ations of structure that bring into the voice
harmonics which previously it did not pos-
sess. This is termed by Professor Gates
the '' psychology of acoustics." The method
adopted for "practising" emotions is very
interesting, but there is not space here for
a detailed description of it.
T-fee musicians of former days used a
lower standard of pitch than that now
adopted, and this sometimes makes their
compositions sound wrong when played on
a modern piano or organ. The new in-
strument devised by Professor Gates will
render it possible to play any piece at any
standard of pitch, and thus the music of
the old composers may be interpreted as
they meant it to be. It seems probable
that there is a certain definite pitch which
is best adapted to each piece of music, and
for the true music of the future it may be
requisite to shift the pitch for every piece.
Indeed, different parts of the same piece
may need different standards of pitch. The
gradual shifting of the pitch from lower to
higher while playing a piece produces a
wonderful new species of climax, which,
until one has heard it, one cannot even
imagine.
Busy Bothner.
Business matters are moving merrily
along at the factories of Geo. Bothner.
Both branches—actions and moldings—are
kept hard at work on actual orders. Many
of the new Bothner molding patrons de-
clare that they use the Bothner moldings
because they get better results at less cost,
and with greater promptitude than ever
before in their experience.
The Los Angeles Pipe Organ Co.'s plant
at Los Angeles, Cal., was totally destroyed
by fire last week. The loss is-estimated-at
$6,opo, insurance, $4,300..
J. B. Theiry & Co., piano dealers, of
Millwaul^ee, Wis., inaugurated a special
sale this week previous to extensive altera-,
tions in their establishment.
8
zines and periodicals. These have been
referred to the local agents from whose
territory the inquiries came.
ij.Sueh work on the part of manufacturers
must surely be appreciated by dealers and
this accounts in a large degree for the
intense loyalty which exists everywhere
for the Vose product.
\X IK now and then note exhibitions of ex-
otic frothiness on the part of the
Annex editor towards the stencil question.
On this whole subject he has always acted
the conscienceless and conceited hypocrite.
The idea of attacking some obscure dealer
who is handling stencil pianos is absurd.
Asjong as stencil pianos are manufactured,
dealers will continue to handle them. You
cannot purify a stream unless you attack
the source.
The Review has always condemned the
illegitimate stencil as a fraud upon the pur-
chasing public, but held that the legitimate
stencil while opening the door to misrepre-
sentation, was purely a matter of business
between the dealer and manufacturer, and
th-itt the latter in the course of time would
see that it was to his material advantage to
discontinue that particular line of his bus-
iness. The man who builds pianos for
every dealer is building nothing fa^him-
self: His business structure is of thA.rriost
flimsy character, and may be demolished
by riew competition to-morrow.
"This cannot be truthfully said of firms
whose wares have a marketable value.
The value of an asset which lies in the
good will or trade mark of an institution
is'always to be considered as embodying
rnaterial and permanent worth.
Hilton Piano to Cuba and China.
Captain Burbee, U. S. Military Com-
mandant at Campe Chula, Cuba, has writ-
ten from the Cosmos Club, a military
organization of U. S. officers at that place,
to the Milton Piano Co., thanking them
for having shipped an ordered instrument
promptly, and acknowledging its safe ar-
rival. Incidentally, he says that the
members of the club are delighted with
the piano sent.
• Another letter received at the Milton
factory- orders four instruments for im-
mediate shipment to Tientsin, China. One
Milton piano is already installed at Tient-
sin and the additional orders are from
friends of the possessor. Since the first
shipment of Milton pianos to the Gmibel
waferooms, Philadelphia, many sales have
been made.
The business of A. B. Clark of Fair-
mont, Mjnn., will hereafter be conducted
under the firm name of A. B. Clark & Co.,
a half interest having been sold. They
recently nioved into larger quarters.
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
Prof. Gate's Discoveries.
WILL BE ABLE TO CONSTRUCT AN INSTRUMENT
THAT WILL PRODUCE MUSIC NEVER
DREAMED OF HITHERTO.
That there is a distinct relation between
emotions and musical notes has long been
recognized, and thus the line of investiga-
tion already described merges naturally
into some very remarkable experiments in
regard to music. Professor Elmer Gates,
the distinguished scientist declares that he
will be able to construct an instrument
that will produce such music as has never
been dreamed of in the world hitherto. It
will represent and comprise the effects of
all instruments now known, as well as of
many others never devised.
He says;
"When Music, heavenly maid, was young,
she was full of discords and imperfections
which, now that she is nearing her mar-
riage with science, should be dropped for
the more perfect emotional expression de-
manded by the purer, truer and better
music of the future."
It was discovered long ago by the famous
German, Von Helmholtz, that the emo-
tional qualities of music depend upon what
are called the "overtones" or "harmonics."
You cause a wire to vibrate, say, at the
rate of sixteen times a second, and it gives
forth a note. At the same time, however,
certain portions of the wire may actually
be vibrating thirty-two times a second,
sixty-four times a second, and so on, thus
producing the overtones. For every fun-
damental note there are at least fourteen
of these overtones. Those of them which
represent the lower numbers of vibrations
produce in the music solemn, mournful
and majestic effects. The middle over-
tones give effects that are a mixture, as of
smiles veiled by tears, while the harmonics
of high vibratory rates are joyous and gay.
In a piano the same fundamental tones
and the same overtones are employed for
playing a dirge as for a "coon song" or
other joyous melody. There is no modi-
fication of the harmonics to adapt them for
the expression of suitable emotion—an
obvious absurdity, as anyone may see. If
it were practicable to produce the funda-
mental tones pure and simple, and to as-
sociate with them the overtones, such of
them as were wanted, in any arrangement
that might be demanded, effects could be
obtained which are wholly beyond the
reach of the present-day piano, or of any
other musical instrument now known.
This, however, is exactly what will be ac-
complished by the instrument which Pro-
fessor Gates has devised. Each funda-
mental- tone is struck by itself, and like-
wise each of the harmonics belonging to
that tone. With the aid of a proper arrange-
ment of stops, apiece of music performed
on it may begin with sadness and wind up
with laughter, thus obtaining a new kind
of musical climax.
Helmholtz said that the power of music
to express emotion depends upon the over-
tones. This has long been recognized as
proved beyond question, and it is well un-
derstood by musicians to-day that the low
harmonics are those of mournfulness and
solemnity, and that the high harmonics
are those of joy. Well, then, Professor
Gates proposes for the first time to utilize
this knowledge by applying it in a practi-
cal way for the production of musical ef-
fects. The music of the future will be a
music of the emotions; it will touch the
human heart as no music hitherto has ever
done. With its aid a skilled composer will
be able to play upon the emotions of a
throng of auditors as upon a harp, rousing
them to patriotic fervor, drawing from
them their tears, or plunging them, if he
so chooses, into agonies of despair.
Professor Gates has found that most hu-
man voices, even the best, have in them
only about one-half of the overtones which
are so necessary to the emotional quality
in music. He has discovered that this con-
dition of affairs maybe greatly improved
by a certain process of training the emo-
tions of the singer, who, by encouraging
the experience of tender emotions, aesthetic
emotions, and various other kinds of moral
emotions, produces in his or her brain alter-
ations of structure that bring into the voice
harmonics which previously it did not pos-
sess. This is termed by Professor Gates
the '' psychology of acoustics." The method
adopted for "practising" emotions is very
interesting, but there is not space here for
a detailed description of it.
T-fee musicians of former days used a
lower standard of pitch than that now
adopted, and this sometimes makes their
compositions sound wrong when played on
a modern piano or organ. The new in-
strument devised by Professor Gates will
render it possible to play any piece at any
standard of pitch, and thus the music of
the old composers may be interpreted as
they meant it to be. It seems probable
that there is a certain definite pitch which
is best adapted to each piece of music, and
for the true music of the future it may be
requisite to shift the pitch for every piece.
Indeed, different parts of the same piece
may need different standards of pitch. The
gradual shifting of the pitch from lower to
higher while playing a piece produces a
wonderful new species of climax, which,
until one has heard it, one cannot even
imagine.
Busy Bothner.
Business matters are moving merrily
along at the factories of Geo. Bothner.
Both branches—actions and moldings—are
kept hard at work on actual orders. Many
of the new Bothner molding patrons de-
clare that they use the Bothner moldings
because they get better results at less cost,
and with greater promptitude than ever
before in their experience.
The Los Angeles Pipe Organ Co.'s plant
at Los Angeles, Cal., was totally destroyed
by fire last week. The loss is-estimated-at
$6,opo, insurance, $4,300..
J. B. Theiry & Co., piano dealers, of
Millwaul^ee, Wis., inaugurated a special
sale this week previous to extensive altera-,
tions in their establishment.
Future scanning projects are planned by the International Arcade Museum Library (IAML).