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Music Trade Review

Issue: 1915 Vol. 61 N. 6 - Page 36

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Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE
MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
A RECORD OFACHIEVEMENT
great musical compositions, and that because it
could do so revolutionized the entire player indus-
Is Melville Clark's Contributions to Player-
try. Prior to Melville Clark's achievement the
Piano Development as Set Forth by an
p'ayer-piano was not much more than an elaborate
Admiring Member of the Trade.
toy. Melville Clark made it an instrument of in-
"The record of Melville Clark's achievements in finite musical possibilities. There is nothing that
the direction of player-piano development is long c?.n quite equal the development of the player-
and brilliant, but one fact stands out strongly piano in recent years, and it was Mr. Clark's
against the horizon of the trade sky," said a promi- genius that made such wonderful development
nent member of the piano trade in chatting with possible. The fact should never be forgotten in
The Review the other day. "That achievement, considering the growth of this important instru-
which is Mr. Clark's crowning work of genius, is ment."
the eighty-eight-note player with the entire range
of the piano. His invention was one of the most
important improvements in player-piano evolution.
Prior to the time when Mr. Clark put the first
eighty-eight-note player on the market, the widest
range of the player was only sixty-live notes. That
is a range of live and a half octaves, nothing more.
No man in his senses who knows anything about
music will maintain that a five and a half octave
piano is any good. Ft is not worth much from a
musical point of view because the larger musical
compositions must be transposed, rearranged or
mutilated in some way in order to get them within
the range of the sixty-five note player. The origi-
nal score cannot be played in many cases because
the five and a half octave range is not wide
enough. Melville Clark, by the invention of the
eighty-eight note player, obviated all of this and
gave the world a player that could play all the
PATENTS MUSJCJWLL HOLDER.
Details of the Invention of Charles W. Dorri-
cott and Assigned to the Electrelle Co.
(Special to The Review.)
ANNOUNCEMENT
Realizing that a constantly growing number of
Player-Piano buyers wish to use the instruments to
play accompaniments to Vocal Music, we have
added a
Mechanical
Transposing and Tracking
Device
to the Gulbransen Player Action. This device per-
mits transposition through seven keys.
It also
enables the operator to adjust the tracker ducts to
the music sheet perforations, thereby assuring ac-
curate tracking. This improvement make? the
WASHINGTON, D. C, August 2.—The Electrelle
Co., Philadelphia, Pa., is the owner through assign-
ment by Charles W. Dorricott, same place, of pat-
ent No. 1,147,929 for a music roll holder, which has
for its object to improve and simplify the winding
and rewinding mechanism of the music sheet.
To this end the invention comprises a continu-
ously driving shaft mounted on the roll holder,
from one end of which motion is conveyed through
suitable mechanism to the take-up roll, and through
the ideal instrument for playing Song Music, as
the opposite end to the rewind mechanism, the shaft
well as strictly instrumental compositions. Gul-
bransen Player Actions equipped with the new Me-
being driven continuously and at a constant speed.
chanical Transposing and Tracking Device are now
Another feature of the invention relates to the
ready for delivery. Remember: "Obtainable in
tempo device connected with the take-up mecha-
the Piano of your choice."
nism, which is both simple and positive in its action,
and which by a simple movement of the lever en-
ables the speed of the take-up roll to be varied
from the normal time to the slowest or fastest
Factories: CHICAGO and NEW YORK
speed necessary to give proper expression to the
Main Office
music being played, this change of speed for the
312-16 Union Park Court, CHICAGO
take-up roll being accomplished without varying the
Eastern Office and Display Rooms i
speed of the driving shaft.
505 Fifth Avenue, NEW YORK
A further object of the invention relates to a
Western Office and Display Rooms•
simple manually operated device which when moved
1224 North American Bldg.. CHICAGO
in one direction disengages the take-up roll from
the driving shaft and couples said shaft with the the music sheet while playing, and break the vacuum
rewind mechanism; releases a brake normally act- in the tracker bar whereby friction of the music
sheet over said tracker bar is greatly reduced.
ing on the music sheet spool to maintain tension of
A still further object of the invention relates to
a shield or guard for the keys of the musical in-
strument to which the player is attached, that pre-
vents the free end of the music sheet when being
rewound on the spool from flying around with said
spool and striking the key with the metal ring
affixed thereto, by means of which the music sheet
is connected to the take-up roll.
Gulbransen
Piano Plainer
Gulbransen-Dickinson Co.
Sold
Exrluoively
To high g r j d t
M j n u / d c tur er s
PIANO
PLAYER
ACTIONS
A m p h i o n P i A n o P l a y e r Co
S V r , c u ' . ' .
N Y .
Chase & Baker
Go.
Manufacturers •<
PIANOS AND PLAYER-PIANOS
They are UNEQUALED tor musical efiectiveneM. ^liability and durability and an th« TRADE STANDARD
Factory and Office, Jewett Avenue and Belt Line, BUFFALO, N. Y.
ANGELUS
'
PIANO-PLA YEH
Introduced in 1895 and constantly im-
proved and developed to its present point
of superiority.
PIANO
An excellent upright piano with
Angelus incorporated in it, making
complete and compact instrument.
THE MELODANT and THE PHRASING LEVER
are patented expression devices fevnd only en the Angelus. The Angelas
instruments are the results ef years ef experience and success.
THE
WILCOX
& WHITE COMPANY
MER1DEN, CONN.
Established 1876
APOLLO BE
Melville
Clark's
Established Retail Price
Consistent with Quality
$700 to $2,400
MELVILLE CLARK PIANO COMPANY
FINE ARTS BUILDING. CHICAGO
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^ ^ ^ ^ • H - ^ K i f --
^ ^ r ^ ^ ^ ^ T U I = =
r/ie PLAYER OF THE NATIONS
T/ie DEALERS LI VEST ASSET .OUR
Pi
ADVERTISING AND SELLING HELPS
TAe AUTOPIANO
CO
.
j
HAVE NO EQUAL IN THE INDUSTRY
5 STand l2 tH AVE • NEW YORK
GENERAL
OFFICES
5ISJ t o 2JJI>
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