Music Trade Review

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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
8
THE PLAYER-PIANISTS' DEPARTMENT
Lit is in every way eminently desirable that a publication
which undertakes to give so much space and so authoritative
« treatment to the great player industry, as does The Re-
view, should not neglect what is after all the real excuse
for the player's existence, namely, the music that is evoked
from it. Recognizing the extraordinary importance of do-
ing everything possible to spread more widely appreciation
and love for music among player-pianists, The Review s
Player Section for the present month contains below, and
will in future regularly contain, a department devoted to
the musical interests of player-pianists and of the player-
piano. Each month one musical article of general interest
will appear, together with useful hints, notes and comments.
This is in addition to the regular sub-section of the Player
Section, which analyzes the monthly issues of music rolls.
Professional demonstrators, salesmen and player-pianists of
every degree will find each month on the "Player-Pianist's'
page of the Player Section much valuable information. And
the Editor of the Player Section will at all times be glad
to answer inquiries on any and all musical player matters.]
THE FORMS OF MUSIC.
Article I.
It is perfectly obvious that the person who de-
sires to enjoy music must have some understand-
ing of it. The fact is true of any form of human
activity, but the degree by which the appreciation
must approach to thorough understanding is
greater in some than in others, depending upon the
abstractness of the particular form of activity un-
der consideration. In the case of music it will be
undoubtedly realized by all that its nature is such
as to demand an eminently high degree of appre-
ciative knowledge as a pre-requisite to thorough
enjoyment.
When we say "an eminently high degree," how-
ever, we speak comparatively. It is possible to
enjoy pictures without having the slightest idea
of the technic whereby they are produced, or of
the artistic laws which govern their execution.
But in the case of music we must possess, in or-
der to enjoy, a degree of actual knowledge com-
paratively high, though not of necessity positively
very high. In fact, if music is to be to us any-
thing more than a concourse of more or less
agreeable sounds, we must acquire some knowl-
edge of its structure, some idea of how it is put
together and some notion of the laws which govern
its composition. It is not necessary that this study
should be either tedious, disagreeable or prolonged.
Some intelligence, a little attention and consider-
able interest in the subject are the sole requisites.
M.WELTEA SONS
FREIBURG'/B
NEW YORK
GERMANY
273 FIFTH AVE.
FOUNDED 1832
THE WELTE
MIGNON PIANO
REPRODUCES THE PLAYING OF
THE GREATEST LIVING PIRNJST
THE WELTE
PHILHARMONIC
ORGAN
REPRODUCES THE PLRVING OF
THE GREATEST ORQflNISTS
THE WELTE
ORCHESTRION
AND
PIANO ORCHESTRION
And it is an interesting subject. One may be
permitted to doubt that there is a more interest-
ing subject to be discovered in all the realm of
the tine arts. Whoever has undertaken any intel-
ligent excursions into the kingdom of music and
has been able to discern with some clearness any
of the features of its landscapes, will agree that
the pleasures then enjoyed for the first time have
never palled upon the imagination, nor failed to
lead towards even more beautiful realizations
Not only is this so, but the appreciative knowl-
edge of music gained through some understand-
ing of its form, structure and laws is easily at-
tained along broad and pleasant pathways. A
desire to know and to enjoy rationally is the sole
preliminary requirement. At the present time,
then, we are about to set forth in a thoroughly
simple and easily understood manner enough in-
formation as to the construction of music to en-
able the intelligent seeker after knowledge to
understand and appreciate what he hears.
To begin at the beginning, it might be well to
settle on some definition of music; to make up
our minds, in short, as to what music actually is.
A hundred definitions might be suggested, but it
is probable that all can be objected to with more
or less justice. The following will be as little
objectionable as any other: "Music is the art
of combining what are called 'musical' sounds in
such a way as to express feelings not expressible
by any other form of artistic activity." Or, to
put the matter in another way, music combines
sounds so as to produce certain forms of audible
expression, which we can recognize by their or-
dered structure and arrangements, and which are
calculated to produce in us more or less definite
emotions, different from those excited by painting,
poetry or any other kind of artistic activity. The
word "artistic" in this respect is intended to con-
vey the idea of activities which are in effect the
impression of personal ideas upon plastic forms.
Music, then, is the use of sounds to excite
emotions of beauty, pleasure, sorrow and so on.
But it is perfectly plain that such a definition as
this is too broad. For we cannot mean the mere
jumbling together of sounds. On the contrary, if
we dash our hands down on the. keys of a piano
we do not produce what we call music, but rather
the very opposite thereof, a discordant jangle
which is in the highest degree unpleasant.
Now, this suggests another point. When we
dashed our hand down on the keyboard we ob-
viously sounded a number of adjacent tones simul-
taneously. If we now observe what those tones
were and sound each one of them separately, we
obtain a separate, distinct and agreeable sensa-
tion from each. More, if we try to select certain
of these Jceys which we struck, and sound them
simultaneously, we are able to arrive at combina-
tions which are not only agreeable like the single
tones, but richer and more fascinating to the ear.
All this suggests that some definite relations
must exist between the various tones which may
be sounded on a piano, that certain forms of these
relations are agreeable and certain others are re-
verse. This again leads to the obvious inference
that the tones which form the raw material of
music are subject to definite laws, which lastly
points to the conclusion that all music itself must
be based upon some sort of structure if it is to be
intelligible.
The tones themselves which form the raw
material of music are indeed, as we can easily
see, very definitely related. In the first place we
shall at once observe, upon examining attentively
the keyboard of a piano, that the total of eighty-
eight keys is made of seven series of twelve
(seven white and five black) keys each, with four
keys over at one end, and with each series identical
with the others in appearance. When we sound
in succession the keys included within any one of
these series and then sound those of the next
series to the right or left, we find that the two
pets of sounds 'apparently correspond each to
each, and that although they are not the same
sounds they are of the same kind. In short, we
find that we are dealing with seven series of
sounds, all the individuals in each of which are re-
lated, and all of which are also in relation with
one another. These sets or series are called
octaves.
If now we sound, working towards the right,
the seven successive white keys which begin with
the key C (any white key immediately to the left
of two black keys and with another white key
on the other side of it) we shall at once find that
the successive sounds most distinctly bear relation
to each other. They appear to "hang together."
In point of fact these seven white keys constitute
the "diatonic scale" based on the tonic key or
keynote C. We chose this particular manifesta-
tion of the scale because it can be sounded on
the white keys alone, but any other tone repre-
sented by black or white key can be used as the
basis of a diatonic scale.
This diatonic scale, so-called, is the basis of all
music. It is the first form into which tones are
cast. It is like the "pig" or rough mass in which
the molten iron is turned out before it is refined
into steel. Of itself it has no musical value.
Playing scales is not music. But in itself it con-
tains all the forms of music ready to be wakened
and loosed by the composer's skill.
The diatonic scale, however, is not sufficient for
all the uses of music, as is obvious from the pres-
ence of twelve separate tones within each octave.
The five black keys which intervene in the scale
beginning with C certainly have some value. They
are, in fact, the so-called sharps and flats. In the
course of musical development it has been found
that needed flexibility of expression has been
added to the diatonic scale by the interpolation of
tones which stand midway between the diatonic
sounds, thus bridging half way the gap between
each pair of the latter. It will also be observed
THIS IS IT!
The Christman
Attachable Player
which can be installed in any grand or
upright piano, regardless of size or style,
without altering the case.
Write us for Further Information.
CHRISTMAN PIANO CO.
597-601 East 137th St., New York