Music Trade Review
Issue: 1914 Vol. 58 N. 22 - Page 7
Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
Why Manufacturers and Player Men Generally Should Carefully Consider
the Question of Calling Another Conference of the Player Interests with a
View of Making it a Regular Annual Feature—Many Benefits Derived.
It will be remembered that in the latter part of
1908 a conference was called by, we believe, the
A. B. Chase Co., of Norwalk, O., to which were
invited representatives of every player manufac-
turer in the country. The object of. the conference
was to frame an agreement covering certain fea-
tures of piano player and player-piano manufac-
ture, upon which it was not only desirable but es-
sential that uniformity of action should forthwith
be secured. To mention a concrete instance, there
was the very important subject of the tracker
scale, of the number of perforations per trans-
verse inch of the tracker. Then there were the
equally important subjects of the dimensions of
the music roll, of the dimensions of the perfora-
tions and other similar matters.
The conference was duly held and attended by
representatives of, we believe, every player then
being actively produced, as well as by manufac-
turers of rolls. Resolutions were drawn up in
which the points touched on above, and others,
were settled, and an agreement was ratified to ad-
here to them strictly. The general opinion of the
trade was that a very important piece of construc-
tive work had been accomplished; work calculated
to save an immense amount of later confusion,
trouble and inefficiency.
There has been no further session of the player
conference save a short meeting held during the
convention of 1911 at the initiative of Paul B.
Klugh, and this article is a plea, earnest and seri-
ous, for its revivification.
It will generally, we think, be admitted that the
player business is as yet in a fluid state. It is not
crystallized, thank goodness, into, anything stiff and
settled, but is yet more or less in a condition where
experiments are still to be made, ideas to be worked
out and invention to be encouraged. There is yet
an immense amount of constructive work to be done
in the field of invention. The perfected player is
not here, no matter how much the purely com-
mercial interest may try to believe that it is. It is
not inconceivable that some entirely new applica-
tion of pneumatic principle may yet revolution-
ize the player business, putting every present player
in the obsolete class. In a word, just as there is
no sensible agreement as to methods, so there is no
static condition. The player needs improvement in
a thousand ways, and in many of those the needed
improvements are fundamental enough to engage
the attention of all. Here, then, if nowhere else,
is a need for exchange of views among player man-
ufacturers.
It is not enough, in our personal opinion (for
this plea is but the expression of a personal opin-
ion), to suppose that the player men can obtain
what they want through the medium of the existing
associations. At the conventions of these there are
already more than enough topics for debate, while
it is probably true to say that only matters of uni-
versal importance (by no means subjects that re-
quire any technical understanding) can properly
be discussed in large general gatherings, unless the
whole be divided into sections after the manner of
the scientific societies.
Player Men Should Hold Conferences.
Failing any such sensible and business-like way
of doing things—and we may well suppose that
there is scarcely any chance of such a scheme re-
ceiving support—we are bound to repeat that the
player trade should consider carefully the question
of calling another conference of the player inter-
ests with a view to making the affair a regular an-
nual occurrence, to which should be admitted only
the manufacturers of player mechanisms and of
music rolls, and which should be devoted to inter-
change of information and opinion, tending toward
the further improvement of the trade and of all its
conditions.
It will be objected that this will be an en-
croachment upon the legitimate functions of the
piano manufacturers' association, but one answer
is that the player business is too markedly dif-
ferent for such an objection to hold good on the
technical side, while the number of player manu-
facturers who are not piano makers is large. If it
then be said that some of the present trade
associations can do the business well enough, it is
sufficient to say that the player proposition is far
too important to be treated as a mere offsho.ot of
any association or any other governing 'body. The
player business needs, nay, demands, a governing
body of its own.
The objection to increasing the number of as-
sociations already in the trade will be nullified if
no attempt be made to create a new society, but if
the original conference be called once more and
then adjourned to meet again a year later tem-
porary officers can be elected to serve as interim
officers, so that the following conference can be
legally called by action of the chairman. So
much for the legal aspect, it being merely neces-
sary to add that a memorandum of agreement as
to principles ratified by the parties present will do
for some time to come as the organic law of the
conference.
The Matters That Require Adjustment.
The subjects that, in our opinion, cry for ad-
justment and that should rightly form the subject
matter of any conference are many. None, how-
ever, is of such importance as rediscussion of the
subject matter of the Buffalo conference. This
related to the dimensions of rolls, the scale of the
tracker, certain very important facts regarding the
scaling of perforations, the margination of rolls
and kindred matters. Each and every one of
these was, and is, of the utmost importance to the
player trade, since the manufacturers of music •
rolls are entirely at the mercy of the player manu-
facturers and must rely on the latter for such uni-
form construction of their spool boxes, their
trackers and their spools as will insure the adapta-
bility of all makes of rolls to all makes of player-
pianos. It has been for some time a matter of
open comment in the trade that the provisions of
the Buffalo conference have been but carelessly
observed, especially in relation to.the details of
roll manufacture and of spool box construction,
and it is highly desirable, from a strictly prac-
tical point of view, that the decisions of the Buf-
falo meeting should be reconsidered, once more
ratified and kept.
The Question of Player Arranging.
We should also beg to suggest the desirability of
taking up for immediate consideration the whole
question of player arranging. It is no longer a
tolerable state of affairs, in our opinion, that there
should be no agreement among arrangers as to
the musical side of their work. We are willing to
let each and every arranger use his own machines
and his own scale of arranging, so long as these
do not widely differ. But when it comes to the
farcical differences of practice in such things as
the treatment of grace notes, the translation of
appoggiaturas and acciaccaturas, and the general
interpretation of the embellishments of music, to say
nothing of the reproduction of expressive signs,
then we assert that it is no longer a matter of
private opinion or individual initiative; it is a
matter of right as against wrong, of public service
as against cynical disregard of public rights. This
is not impertinent. The impertinence would lie in
disregarding what has become a plain evil.
If we should then attempt to enumerate the pos-
sible additional subjects that might and should oc-
cupy the attention of the suggested player con-
ference, we might go on for much longer, but it
will be sufficient to have indicated these two points
as samples of the conditions that exist. The player
conference of 1909 started a good work in bringing
the player men together and getting them to look
at a few things communally. It is now high time
to remember that lesson of four years ago and
to set ourselves to the task of learning it again.
INVENTS NEW VALVE UNIT.
The Perfected Player Unit Co., 1656-58 Austin
avenue, Chicago, which was recently organized by
E. C. Hiscock, formerly superintendent of one of
Chicago's large plants, is placing on the market
a new valve unit of metal construction • of the
double valve type. The composition used is re-
liable and wearable and does not rust, corrode,
crack or leak. The rubber cloth which connects
the plates is attached 'by a vulcanizing process
which the inventor, Mr. Hiscock, claims is superior
to glue. A perforated disc of German silver is
used in the valve to protect the bleed. Much in-
terest has been displayed in this new device by
those who have had the pleasure of examining it.
The Hartford Piano Co., of which L. A.
Wheeler is the proprietor, has taken over the busi-
ness of the Hartford Piano and Music Co., Hart-
ford, Conn.
The Master Player-Piano
is now equipped with an
AUTOMATIC TRACKING DEVICE
Which guarantees absolutely correct tracking of even the most imperfect music rolls
W I N T E R & CO., 220 Southern Boulevard, New York City
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
Why Manufacturers and Player Men Generally Should Carefully Consider
the Question of Calling Another Conference of the Player Interests with a
View of Making it a Regular Annual Feature—Many Benefits Derived.
It will be remembered that in the latter part of
1908 a conference was called by, we believe, the
A. B. Chase Co., of Norwalk, O., to which were
invited representatives of every player manufac-
turer in the country. The object of. the conference
was to frame an agreement covering certain fea-
tures of piano player and player-piano manufac-
ture, upon which it was not only desirable but es-
sential that uniformity of action should forthwith
be secured. To mention a concrete instance, there
was the very important subject of the tracker
scale, of the number of perforations per trans-
verse inch of the tracker. Then there were the
equally important subjects of the dimensions of
the music roll, of the dimensions of the perfora-
tions and other similar matters.
The conference was duly held and attended by
representatives of, we believe, every player then
being actively produced, as well as by manufac-
turers of rolls. Resolutions were drawn up in
which the points touched on above, and others,
were settled, and an agreement was ratified to ad-
here to them strictly. The general opinion of the
trade was that a very important piece of construc-
tive work had been accomplished; work calculated
to save an immense amount of later confusion,
trouble and inefficiency.
There has been no further session of the player
conference save a short meeting held during the
convention of 1911 at the initiative of Paul B.
Klugh, and this article is a plea, earnest and seri-
ous, for its revivification.
It will generally, we think, be admitted that the
player business is as yet in a fluid state. It is not
crystallized, thank goodness, into, anything stiff and
settled, but is yet more or less in a condition where
experiments are still to be made, ideas to be worked
out and invention to be encouraged. There is yet
an immense amount of constructive work to be done
in the field of invention. The perfected player is
not here, no matter how much the purely com-
mercial interest may try to believe that it is. It is
not inconceivable that some entirely new applica-
tion of pneumatic principle may yet revolution-
ize the player business, putting every present player
in the obsolete class. In a word, just as there is
no sensible agreement as to methods, so there is no
static condition. The player needs improvement in
a thousand ways, and in many of those the needed
improvements are fundamental enough to engage
the attention of all. Here, then, if nowhere else,
is a need for exchange of views among player man-
ufacturers.
It is not enough, in our personal opinion (for
this plea is but the expression of a personal opin-
ion), to suppose that the player men can obtain
what they want through the medium of the existing
associations. At the conventions of these there are
already more than enough topics for debate, while
it is probably true to say that only matters of uni-
versal importance (by no means subjects that re-
quire any technical understanding) can properly
be discussed in large general gatherings, unless the
whole be divided into sections after the manner of
the scientific societies.
Player Men Should Hold Conferences.
Failing any such sensible and business-like way
of doing things—and we may well suppose that
there is scarcely any chance of such a scheme re-
ceiving support—we are bound to repeat that the
player trade should consider carefully the question
of calling another conference of the player inter-
ests with a view to making the affair a regular an-
nual occurrence, to which should be admitted only
the manufacturers of player mechanisms and of
music rolls, and which should be devoted to inter-
change of information and opinion, tending toward
the further improvement of the trade and of all its
conditions.
It will be objected that this will be an en-
croachment upon the legitimate functions of the
piano manufacturers' association, but one answer
is that the player business is too markedly dif-
ferent for such an objection to hold good on the
technical side, while the number of player manu-
facturers who are not piano makers is large. If it
then be said that some of the present trade
associations can do the business well enough, it is
sufficient to say that the player proposition is far
too important to be treated as a mere offsho.ot of
any association or any other governing 'body. The
player business needs, nay, demands, a governing
body of its own.
The objection to increasing the number of as-
sociations already in the trade will be nullified if
no attempt be made to create a new society, but if
the original conference be called once more and
then adjourned to meet again a year later tem-
porary officers can be elected to serve as interim
officers, so that the following conference can be
legally called by action of the chairman. So
much for the legal aspect, it being merely neces-
sary to add that a memorandum of agreement as
to principles ratified by the parties present will do
for some time to come as the organic law of the
conference.
The Matters That Require Adjustment.
The subjects that, in our opinion, cry for ad-
justment and that should rightly form the subject
matter of any conference are many. None, how-
ever, is of such importance as rediscussion of the
subject matter of the Buffalo conference. This
related to the dimensions of rolls, the scale of the
tracker, certain very important facts regarding the
scaling of perforations, the margination of rolls
and kindred matters. Each and every one of
these was, and is, of the utmost importance to the
player trade, since the manufacturers of music •
rolls are entirely at the mercy of the player manu-
facturers and must rely on the latter for such uni-
form construction of their spool boxes, their
trackers and their spools as will insure the adapta-
bility of all makes of rolls to all makes of player-
pianos. It has been for some time a matter of
open comment in the trade that the provisions of
the Buffalo conference have been but carelessly
observed, especially in relation to.the details of
roll manufacture and of spool box construction,
and it is highly desirable, from a strictly prac-
tical point of view, that the decisions of the Buf-
falo meeting should be reconsidered, once more
ratified and kept.
The Question of Player Arranging.
We should also beg to suggest the desirability of
taking up for immediate consideration the whole
question of player arranging. It is no longer a
tolerable state of affairs, in our opinion, that there
should be no agreement among arrangers as to
the musical side of their work. We are willing to
let each and every arranger use his own machines
and his own scale of arranging, so long as these
do not widely differ. But when it comes to the
farcical differences of practice in such things as
the treatment of grace notes, the translation of
appoggiaturas and acciaccaturas, and the general
interpretation of the embellishments of music, to say
nothing of the reproduction of expressive signs,
then we assert that it is no longer a matter of
private opinion or individual initiative; it is a
matter of right as against wrong, of public service
as against cynical disregard of public rights. This
is not impertinent. The impertinence would lie in
disregarding what has become a plain evil.
If we should then attempt to enumerate the pos-
sible additional subjects that might and should oc-
cupy the attention of the suggested player con-
ference, we might go on for much longer, but it
will be sufficient to have indicated these two points
as samples of the conditions that exist. The player
conference of 1909 started a good work in bringing
the player men together and getting them to look
at a few things communally. It is now high time
to remember that lesson of four years ago and
to set ourselves to the task of learning it again.
INVENTS NEW VALVE UNIT.
The Perfected Player Unit Co., 1656-58 Austin
avenue, Chicago, which was recently organized by
E. C. Hiscock, formerly superintendent of one of
Chicago's large plants, is placing on the market
a new valve unit of metal construction • of the
double valve type. The composition used is re-
liable and wearable and does not rust, corrode,
crack or leak. The rubber cloth which connects
the plates is attached 'by a vulcanizing process
which the inventor, Mr. Hiscock, claims is superior
to glue. A perforated disc of German silver is
used in the valve to protect the bleed. Much in-
terest has been displayed in this new device by
those who have had the pleasure of examining it.
The Hartford Piano Co., of which L. A.
Wheeler is the proprietor, has taken over the busi-
ness of the Hartford Piano and Music Co., Hart-
ford, Conn.
The Master Player-Piano
is now equipped with an
AUTOMATIC TRACKING DEVICE
Which guarantees absolutely correct tracking of even the most imperfect music rolls
W I N T E R & CO., 220 Southern Boulevard, New York City
Future scanning projects are planned by the International Arcade Museum Library (IAML).