Music Trade Review
Issue: 1906 Vol. 43 N. 9 - Page 40
Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
40
THE
MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
VSIC rVBLISHIN©
RESULTS HAVE BEEN SATISFACTORY.
The Publishers Seem Satisfied and View Fall
Conditions in a Most Optimistic Way—Old
English Houses Open in New York—What
Some of the Managers Say About Business
Prospects.
Aside from the publishing of fugitive melo-
dies, of which there seems to be no end, the
trade in the upper strata have been more inter-
ested in the productions, a number of them
having their premiere or been heard for the first
time in centers of large population. In the
main, the results have been satisfactory. More
are to come between now and the holidays, and
there are great expectations. The opening of
the regular season may therefore be character-
ized as favorable, for there has been more stir
and bustle about the publishing houses, which
will doubtless increase. Not a publisher, in any
grade or classification, but who is in an optimis-
tic mood, and is prepared to furnish data to
prove that the prospects, even if viewed through
roseate glasses occasionally, are taken from the
most reliable sources.
Jobbers and the heaviest dealers are in the
same frame of mind; that is to say, firmly be-
lieve a strong and active business is before them,
ly as natural conditions would seem to warrant;
ly as natural conditions would seem to warrant,
but a spirit of patience prevails most commenda-
ble in its way, considering the demoralizing
forces that have played havoc with prices and
practices established by long and honorable
trade usage.
Some talk is occasioned over the opening by
leading English publishing houses of branches in
New York. No one "views with alarm" these
through the story, because the popular music
business, to a great extent, is kept alive by the
young women from fifteen to twenty-five years
of age, says Harry Williams, a well-known writer
of light music. Make the verse and chorus—par-
ticularly the chorus—as short as possible. Be
most careful to have the melody and the ar-
rangement set down in the simplest manner, so
that any one with even a limited knowledge of
music can play it. One difficult strain in a song
is very apt to spoil the whole.
In the arrangement of the music the author of
a popular song must restrict himself to not
more than one octave and one note. This is for
the benefit of the singer who Is to render it on
the stage. In the writing of instrumental music,
marches, waltzes and the like, a composer may
go as far as two octaves. Having in mind the
limitations of the ordinary singer in vaudeville,
the going beyond the octave and one note is
dangerous. It is to the performer who sings
the song from the stage, and the young girl who
hears it played over by the "demonstrator" in
the music stores that the author must look for
the success of his effort. The young girl aids
the sale of the song because the romanticism of
her nature is touched by the sentiment. If there
sentiment in the song, she is not moved,
RULES FOR WRITING POPULAR SONGS. is and no she
doesn't buy. This is the reason the
tender ballads are infinitely more successful as
Why Tender Ballads Are More Successful Than
sellers than the comic songs which raise a laugh
Comic Melodies—Picking Winners a Hazard.
in a theater.
No one can tell from the mere reading over of
In writing a "popular song" the budding
author would do well to be guided by a few a song whether or not it is destined to be a hit.
easily remembered rules. In the first place, he If any one could he could make $1,000 an hour
must use the most simple words and the most by simply picking out the wheat from the chaff,
ordinary phrases. Anything which has the ap- turning the accepted product over to a music
pearance of being involved will fail. One must publisher and then watching the effect on the
be sure to have some little love theme running public. The song has 1o be published and tried
symptoms of activity on the part of the London
establishments. On the contrary, their coming
is regarded as evidence of progress, that may
lead to the betterment of conditions that are, in-
deed, bad enough. The firms so far personally
represented are no strangers to this part of the
musical world, either in the trade or among
artists. Their catalogues are familiar, only their
American business has assumed such propor-
tions that it has been deemed advisable to give
it closer attention. Rest assured these old and
highly esteemed English concerns know their
business, and have the courage of their mercan-
tile conviction, consequently their influence will
be none other than uplifting.
The manager of one of the largest and most
conservative houses said to The Review this
week, after discussing trade affairs in general:
"We have really had a surprisingly good sum-
mer business, and fall trade cannot be other
than its sequel. Have seen a number of the best
houses, and they are of my mind. The musical
season is bright with promise, and this means
that we who market the goods, as distinguished
from the people who 'live for their art,' are
feeling as if things were coming our way."
Important Notice to tKe Music Trade
Messrs. CHAPPELL & CO., Ltd. (the well-known Mvisic Publishers of London, England.) have the
pleasure to announce the opening of their American brancK at
37 West Seventeenth
Street, J^ew York
and respectfully request that all communications or orders for their publications be addressed as above
A Few of The Most Popular of The CHAPPELL
GUY D'HARDELOT
"The
DJIWJI."
"liocause."
"1 Know ;i Lovely Garden."
•I Hid My Love."
"I Think.""
BALLAD
SUCCESSES
DEN2A
TOSTI
"A May Morning."
"An oi-ohard ('radio Son};."
•\\I v 1 t
FLORENCE AYLWARD
FRANK LAMBERT
"Beloved. It: Is Morn."
"Love's (oronation."
"She Is Far From The Land."
"The Might Has a Thousand Eyes.
MAUDE VALERIE WHITE
"Spring Has Come."
"Three Little Songs."
"Marching Along."
HERMANN LOHR
"Two
"The
Two Songs :—
"The Rose." •
"The River and The Sea.
"Cod's Eternity."
ERNEST NEWTON
"Lorim."
"Love's F.eho."
SUCCESSFUL CHAPPELL
Siniiig Chicken."
C o u n t r y Girl."
'< 'ingiilee.''
MUSICAL
"Duchess of Dant/.ig."
"Karl and t h e (iirl."
'(iirl from Kay's."
PRODUCTION
"Swing Song" ("Veronique").
"Simple Little String" ("Runaway Girl").
"Soldiers in the Park" ["Runaway (Jirl").
and "EXPERIENCE,"
L i t t l e l'-ish S o n g s . "
Little Irish (Jlrl."
FRANKE TOURS
"Mother o" Mine."
NOEL JOHNSON
•Little Cherub."
'Bine Moon."
'Lady Madcap."
ENGLISH
TERESA DEL RIEGO
••(> Dry Th
Tears."
"Slave Song."
"My Gentle Child."
"Happy Song."
PRODUCTIONS
" L i t t l e Michus
"Orchid."
"Runaway (Jirl
"Toreador."
"Three Little Mah
"Veronique."
SONGS
"Toreador Sung" ("Toreador").
"Miller's Daughter" ("Three Little Maids").
"By the Shore of the Mediterranean ("Karl and the Girl"),
Ilnttie Williams' Great Success in "The Little Cherub."
CHAPPELL & CO., Ltd., 37 West Seventeenth Street, New York
40
THE
MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
VSIC rVBLISHIN©
RESULTS HAVE BEEN SATISFACTORY.
The Publishers Seem Satisfied and View Fall
Conditions in a Most Optimistic Way—Old
English Houses Open in New York—What
Some of the Managers Say About Business
Prospects.
Aside from the publishing of fugitive melo-
dies, of which there seems to be no end, the
trade in the upper strata have been more inter-
ested in the productions, a number of them
having their premiere or been heard for the first
time in centers of large population. In the
main, the results have been satisfactory. More
are to come between now and the holidays, and
there are great expectations. The opening of
the regular season may therefore be character-
ized as favorable, for there has been more stir
and bustle about the publishing houses, which
will doubtless increase. Not a publisher, in any
grade or classification, but who is in an optimis-
tic mood, and is prepared to furnish data to
prove that the prospects, even if viewed through
roseate glasses occasionally, are taken from the
most reliable sources.
Jobbers and the heaviest dealers are in the
same frame of mind; that is to say, firmly be-
lieve a strong and active business is before them,
ly as natural conditions would seem to warrant;
ly as natural conditions would seem to warrant,
but a spirit of patience prevails most commenda-
ble in its way, considering the demoralizing
forces that have played havoc with prices and
practices established by long and honorable
trade usage.
Some talk is occasioned over the opening by
leading English publishing houses of branches in
New York. No one "views with alarm" these
through the story, because the popular music
business, to a great extent, is kept alive by the
young women from fifteen to twenty-five years
of age, says Harry Williams, a well-known writer
of light music. Make the verse and chorus—par-
ticularly the chorus—as short as possible. Be
most careful to have the melody and the ar-
rangement set down in the simplest manner, so
that any one with even a limited knowledge of
music can play it. One difficult strain in a song
is very apt to spoil the whole.
In the arrangement of the music the author of
a popular song must restrict himself to not
more than one octave and one note. This is for
the benefit of the singer who Is to render it on
the stage. In the writing of instrumental music,
marches, waltzes and the like, a composer may
go as far as two octaves. Having in mind the
limitations of the ordinary singer in vaudeville,
the going beyond the octave and one note is
dangerous. It is to the performer who sings
the song from the stage, and the young girl who
hears it played over by the "demonstrator" in
the music stores that the author must look for
the success of his effort. The young girl aids
the sale of the song because the romanticism of
her nature is touched by the sentiment. If there
sentiment in the song, she is not moved,
RULES FOR WRITING POPULAR SONGS. is and no she
doesn't buy. This is the reason the
tender ballads are infinitely more successful as
Why Tender Ballads Are More Successful Than
sellers than the comic songs which raise a laugh
Comic Melodies—Picking Winners a Hazard.
in a theater.
No one can tell from the mere reading over of
In writing a "popular song" the budding
author would do well to be guided by a few a song whether or not it is destined to be a hit.
easily remembered rules. In the first place, he If any one could he could make $1,000 an hour
must use the most simple words and the most by simply picking out the wheat from the chaff,
ordinary phrases. Anything which has the ap- turning the accepted product over to a music
pearance of being involved will fail. One must publisher and then watching the effect on the
be sure to have some little love theme running public. The song has 1o be published and tried
symptoms of activity on the part of the London
establishments. On the contrary, their coming
is regarded as evidence of progress, that may
lead to the betterment of conditions that are, in-
deed, bad enough. The firms so far personally
represented are no strangers to this part of the
musical world, either in the trade or among
artists. Their catalogues are familiar, only their
American business has assumed such propor-
tions that it has been deemed advisable to give
it closer attention. Rest assured these old and
highly esteemed English concerns know their
business, and have the courage of their mercan-
tile conviction, consequently their influence will
be none other than uplifting.
The manager of one of the largest and most
conservative houses said to The Review this
week, after discussing trade affairs in general:
"We have really had a surprisingly good sum-
mer business, and fall trade cannot be other
than its sequel. Have seen a number of the best
houses, and they are of my mind. The musical
season is bright with promise, and this means
that we who market the goods, as distinguished
from the people who 'live for their art,' are
feeling as if things were coming our way."
Important Notice to tKe Music Trade
Messrs. CHAPPELL & CO., Ltd. (the well-known Mvisic Publishers of London, England.) have the
pleasure to announce the opening of their American brancK at
37 West Seventeenth
Street, J^ew York
and respectfully request that all communications or orders for their publications be addressed as above
A Few of The Most Popular of The CHAPPELL
GUY D'HARDELOT
"The
DJIWJI."
"liocause."
"1 Know ;i Lovely Garden."
•I Hid My Love."
"I Think.""
BALLAD
SUCCESSES
DEN2A
TOSTI
"A May Morning."
"An oi-ohard ('radio Son};."
•\\I v 1 t
FLORENCE AYLWARD
FRANK LAMBERT
"Beloved. It: Is Morn."
"Love's (oronation."
"She Is Far From The Land."
"The Might Has a Thousand Eyes.
MAUDE VALERIE WHITE
"Spring Has Come."
"Three Little Songs."
"Marching Along."
HERMANN LOHR
"Two
"The
Two Songs :—
"The Rose." •
"The River and The Sea.
"Cod's Eternity."
ERNEST NEWTON
"Lorim."
"Love's F.eho."
SUCCESSFUL CHAPPELL
Siniiig Chicken."
C o u n t r y Girl."
'< 'ingiilee.''
MUSICAL
"Duchess of Dant/.ig."
"Karl and t h e (iirl."
'(iirl from Kay's."
PRODUCTION
"Swing Song" ("Veronique").
"Simple Little String" ("Runaway Girl").
"Soldiers in the Park" ["Runaway (Jirl").
and "EXPERIENCE,"
L i t t l e l'-ish S o n g s . "
Little Irish (Jlrl."
FRANKE TOURS
"Mother o" Mine."
NOEL JOHNSON
•Little Cherub."
'Bine Moon."
'Lady Madcap."
ENGLISH
TERESA DEL RIEGO
••(> Dry Th
Tears."
"Slave Song."
"My Gentle Child."
"Happy Song."
PRODUCTIONS
" L i t t l e Michus
"Orchid."
"Runaway (Jirl
"Toreador."
"Three Little Mah
"Veronique."
SONGS
"Toreador Sung" ("Toreador").
"Miller's Daughter" ("Three Little Maids").
"By the Shore of the Mediterranean ("Karl and the Girl"),
Ilnttie Williams' Great Success in "The Little Cherub."
CHAPPELL & CO., Ltd., 37 West Seventeenth Street, New York
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