Music Trade Review
Issue: 1915 Vol. 61 N. 9 - Page 7
Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
The Age of Refinement in Musical Expression and What it Demands of
the Modern Player-Piano—The Various Semi-Standard Methods of Con-
trol and How They Are Utilized—Getting Expression in the Player.
The past ten years have shown a growing appre-
ciation of the necessity for refining what may be
termed the internal capacities of the player mecha-
nism. To-day there is not a player on the market
that will not do well enough the rough things.
Every player will grind out the music of a piece
with perfect correctness and in perfect time. But
the day has gone when this much was regarded as
satisfactory. We now need a great deal more than
this; we have come to the age of refinement.
The player-pianist—and by this term we mean to
speak of all who are rightly interested in the play-
ing of the player-piano, no matter how expert they
may be at the present moment—knows that noth-
ing is more essential to giving a "lively" perfor-
mance of music than quickness and sharpness of
accent. In fact, this one special requirement, to-
gether with the other of avoiding monotony of
phrasing, is vital to the character of the player-
piano as a true musical instrument, and still more
vital to the permanence of its vogue, it is there-
fore highly important that we should have some
sane ideas on this general subject. It is even more
important, from the viewpoint of the player-
pianist, for whom this page is more especially writ-
ten, that he should understand how much can be
done in the way of affording true accent coloring
with the ordinary every-day type of player-piano
now commonly in use. In making this inquiry we
shall not consider player-pianos provided with
special apparatus for the isolation of single tones,
whether automatically or manually, but shall con-
fine ourselves to the ordinary case presented by
the player of commerce. This player, generally
speaking, is of two types. The first type depends
for accent on pedals and divided hammer rail, with
lifting device for either half thereof or the whole.
The second depends upon pedals with double
divided pneumatic action carrying choker buttons.
A few have hammer rail division and single
choker affecting the entire action.
The Methods of Phrasing Control.
The hammer rail division is an arrangement
whereby, when a button is depressed by a finger
of the left hand, one half of the line of hammers
(the division being usually between E and F above
middle C) is thrown nearer to the strings. When
both buttons are depressed the whole line is
thrown nearer. Consequently, when one half of
the hammers are near the strings and the other
half at their normal position, the sounds evoked
from the former will be softer than those evoked
from the latter. Thus it is possible, roughly speak-
ing, to subdue the bass while accenting the melody
of the piece, or vice versa, even though the pedal-
ing be virtually constant.
The choker method is somewhat different. In
most cases this amounts to dividing the pneumatic
action into two compartments, each having a gov-
ernor through which the displaced air can be made
to flow. The governor is spring weighted and ac-
tuates a reducing or cut-off valve, whereby only
such pressure as is indicated by the spring can
operate on the action. Thus the blows struck can
be made as light as desired when the governor is
ir. action ; and this can be done independently for
either half of the action, or, by operating both
governors, for the whole action. The governor is
usually operated by means of a button, which when
depressed throws it into action, and when released
allows the air to pass uncontrolled. Naturally,
therefore, when either button is depressed the cor-
responding half of the piano is subdued, and vice
versa.
Hammer-Rail and Pedals.
The divided hammer rail player, of course, must
depend upon fluctuations in the bellows power for
its accenting. The hammer rail system is negative.
It softens, but does not of itself impart more
power anywhere. Hence, the hammer rail system
is really preparatory, for although it makes the
ground ready for accentuation, pedal work is
needed to give a positive quality to the result.
Thus the work of accentuation, as carried out with
the hammer rail system and with chokers, presents
differences of method.
The Choker System.
On the other hand, the choker system is positive
and negative at once. Depression of a button
softens, while release of it actually imparts accent.
If, for instance, a button be depressed until a note
to be accented is about to be played and then be
released at the incidence of the corresponding per-
foration with the tracker, that last note will be
sounded at full power, while the preceding notes
have been sounded at reduced power. And if the
button at once be depressed again, before any
other note can be sounded, the one note will stand
out over all around it. Of course, it must be un-
derstood that this statement is not accurate when
several tones are simultaneously sounded. In that
case, and in the absence of any of the methods
described later (or of automatic special devices,
which may or may not be efficient), all the tones
that appear simultaneously with the tone to be ac-
cented will undergo the same accentuation. The
same remark applies to accent with the pedals in
the other type of player.
The Basis of Accentuation.
Roughly speaking, those tones in a piece are to
be accented—which simply means emphasized—
which constitute the melody. Special accentuations
are often needed to mark a rhythm in the bass (as in
waltz time) or for similar purposes, but melodic
accentuation is the prime consideration. It is then
desirable to inquire how far such accentuation may
be carried out in ordinary players.
Let it be remembered that from the player-
piano's point of view accent means playing a given
tone or tones at pressure of air higher than is
given to preceding and following tones. This
again means either a harder kick on the pedal or
release of a button controlling a choker, or both.
Hammer-Rail and Pedal Accent.
With the hammer rail and pedal player accentua-
tion is carried out as follows: The tone to be ac-
cented is sighted before it crosses the tracker bar, and
at the moment, or very slightly before the moment
of its incidence with the latter, the pedal is sharply
depressed, more sharply than it was the moment
before. This increases the effective pressure and
accents or emphasizes the desired tone, by causing
it to play louder than its predecessors or followers.
The hammer rail division is here used to subdue
the half of the range which is not within the
region where the tone to be accented is situated,
although the statement is rough, since the division
is always at a fixed point.
Of course, here again we have the difficulty that
there may be, and often are, several tones simul-
taneously sounding, of which one should be ac-
cented. This can be done in most cases as de-
scribed later.
Choker
Accentuation.
This was described above, and it only remains
to say that it is customary to depress both buttons
and release that one corresponding to the side of
the division on which the note tone to be accented
i« situated, as required. At the same time it is
also necessary, in order that the accent should be
"live," to depress the pedal sharply. This, how-
ever, does not affect the .choked side, for although
the extra sound is heard all through the hammer
rail type of player-piano, even when the non-accent-
ing side is raised, this is not the case in the choker
type, for the choked side remains at the same
pressure always.
The Tempo Lever.
A very great deal of what can be done to avoid
the difficulties created by the fixed division of all
players, such as we have described, is to be traced
to right manipulation of the tempo lever. In an
arpeggioed chord, for instance, by manipulating the
tempo lever so as to make a slight stop on any one
of the tones, sufficiently long only to enable the
choker to be released and depressed again, or the
pedal to be depressed, an accent can b^ 1 given on
any part of the chord. Again, the needed gram-
matical accent in the accompaniment on the first
beat of the bar can be given that way, and always
could be, in fact, since a slight pause on the first
beat is always of good effect.
There are many other ideas of the same sort to
be worked out. For instance, so much of what is
called "touch" in ordinary piano playing depends
upon the grouping of the musical phrases that an
accent can be had often, and always can be im-
proved where it could be had anyway, merely by
making a slight pause on the right tone and then
sweeping on again in original tempo.
Many ideas of value will come to the player-
pianist who considers these facts. Trills can be
accented, long runs made to sound lifelike, accom-
paniments deprived of woodenness and a real
"life" given to the delivery of a melody, by manipu-
lation of the tempo lever. The fundamental rule
as to phrasing in musical interpretation might be
stated as follows:
The playing of music is oratory ; the delivery of
an address in verse of highest emotional import.
Every art of speech which is allowable to the ora-
tor is allowable also to the musician.
Retarding the Note-
When the simultaneous tone difficulty comes
there is one thing that can be done. If the tracker
bar is situated conveniently enough, as in most
grand players, or as in the A. B. Chase Artistano
in either form, one can place one's finger on the
perforation to be accented and hold it back slightly
until the rest of the chord has sounded. Then let
k be sounded out by itself. This is not easy, but
if done quickly enough (especially quickly), it
gives a good accent in almost all cases.
This is a very interesting subject, and there are
many other things that can be said about it. 1
shall return to it.
Store Rack for 500 Music Rolls-$12
6J4 feet high, 3 feet wide, holding 500 rolls. Made of metal with
bright copper finish. Keeps rolls properly classified and displays
them so you SELL rolls instead of storing them. Send the $12
today on a money-back-unless-satisfied plan.
If yon want more details
before sending the $12,
ask for Folder No. 8.
The
Syracuse Wire Works, Syracuse, N. Y.
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
The Age of Refinement in Musical Expression and What it Demands of
the Modern Player-Piano—The Various Semi-Standard Methods of Con-
trol and How They Are Utilized—Getting Expression in the Player.
The past ten years have shown a growing appre-
ciation of the necessity for refining what may be
termed the internal capacities of the player mecha-
nism. To-day there is not a player on the market
that will not do well enough the rough things.
Every player will grind out the music of a piece
with perfect correctness and in perfect time. But
the day has gone when this much was regarded as
satisfactory. We now need a great deal more than
this; we have come to the age of refinement.
The player-pianist—and by this term we mean to
speak of all who are rightly interested in the play-
ing of the player-piano, no matter how expert they
may be at the present moment—knows that noth-
ing is more essential to giving a "lively" perfor-
mance of music than quickness and sharpness of
accent. In fact, this one special requirement, to-
gether with the other of avoiding monotony of
phrasing, is vital to the character of the player-
piano as a true musical instrument, and still more
vital to the permanence of its vogue, it is there-
fore highly important that we should have some
sane ideas on this general subject. It is even more
important, from the viewpoint of the player-
pianist, for whom this page is more especially writ-
ten, that he should understand how much can be
done in the way of affording true accent coloring
with the ordinary every-day type of player-piano
now commonly in use. In making this inquiry we
shall not consider player-pianos provided with
special apparatus for the isolation of single tones,
whether automatically or manually, but shall con-
fine ourselves to the ordinary case presented by
the player of commerce. This player, generally
speaking, is of two types. The first type depends
for accent on pedals and divided hammer rail, with
lifting device for either half thereof or the whole.
The second depends upon pedals with double
divided pneumatic action carrying choker buttons.
A few have hammer rail division and single
choker affecting the entire action.
The Methods of Phrasing Control.
The hammer rail division is an arrangement
whereby, when a button is depressed by a finger
of the left hand, one half of the line of hammers
(the division being usually between E and F above
middle C) is thrown nearer to the strings. When
both buttons are depressed the whole line is
thrown nearer. Consequently, when one half of
the hammers are near the strings and the other
half at their normal position, the sounds evoked
from the former will be softer than those evoked
from the latter. Thus it is possible, roughly speak-
ing, to subdue the bass while accenting the melody
of the piece, or vice versa, even though the pedal-
ing be virtually constant.
The choker method is somewhat different. In
most cases this amounts to dividing the pneumatic
action into two compartments, each having a gov-
ernor through which the displaced air can be made
to flow. The governor is spring weighted and ac-
tuates a reducing or cut-off valve, whereby only
such pressure as is indicated by the spring can
operate on the action. Thus the blows struck can
be made as light as desired when the governor is
ir. action ; and this can be done independently for
either half of the action, or, by operating both
governors, for the whole action. The governor is
usually operated by means of a button, which when
depressed throws it into action, and when released
allows the air to pass uncontrolled. Naturally,
therefore, when either button is depressed the cor-
responding half of the piano is subdued, and vice
versa.
Hammer-Rail and Pedals.
The divided hammer rail player, of course, must
depend upon fluctuations in the bellows power for
its accenting. The hammer rail system is negative.
It softens, but does not of itself impart more
power anywhere. Hence, the hammer rail system
is really preparatory, for although it makes the
ground ready for accentuation, pedal work is
needed to give a positive quality to the result.
Thus the work of accentuation, as carried out with
the hammer rail system and with chokers, presents
differences of method.
The Choker System.
On the other hand, the choker system is positive
and negative at once. Depression of a button
softens, while release of it actually imparts accent.
If, for instance, a button be depressed until a note
to be accented is about to be played and then be
released at the incidence of the corresponding per-
foration with the tracker, that last note will be
sounded at full power, while the preceding notes
have been sounded at reduced power. And if the
button at once be depressed again, before any
other note can be sounded, the one note will stand
out over all around it. Of course, it must be un-
derstood that this statement is not accurate when
several tones are simultaneously sounded. In that
case, and in the absence of any of the methods
described later (or of automatic special devices,
which may or may not be efficient), all the tones
that appear simultaneously with the tone to be ac-
cented will undergo the same accentuation. The
same remark applies to accent with the pedals in
the other type of player.
The Basis of Accentuation.
Roughly speaking, those tones in a piece are to
be accented—which simply means emphasized—
which constitute the melody. Special accentuations
are often needed to mark a rhythm in the bass (as in
waltz time) or for similar purposes, but melodic
accentuation is the prime consideration. It is then
desirable to inquire how far such accentuation may
be carried out in ordinary players.
Let it be remembered that from the player-
piano's point of view accent means playing a given
tone or tones at pressure of air higher than is
given to preceding and following tones. This
again means either a harder kick on the pedal or
release of a button controlling a choker, or both.
Hammer-Rail and Pedal Accent.
With the hammer rail and pedal player accentua-
tion is carried out as follows: The tone to be ac-
cented is sighted before it crosses the tracker bar, and
at the moment, or very slightly before the moment
of its incidence with the latter, the pedal is sharply
depressed, more sharply than it was the moment
before. This increases the effective pressure and
accents or emphasizes the desired tone, by causing
it to play louder than its predecessors or followers.
The hammer rail division is here used to subdue
the half of the range which is not within the
region where the tone to be accented is situated,
although the statement is rough, since the division
is always at a fixed point.
Of course, here again we have the difficulty that
there may be, and often are, several tones simul-
taneously sounding, of which one should be ac-
cented. This can be done in most cases as de-
scribed later.
Choker
Accentuation.
This was described above, and it only remains
to say that it is customary to depress both buttons
and release that one corresponding to the side of
the division on which the note tone to be accented
i« situated, as required. At the same time it is
also necessary, in order that the accent should be
"live," to depress the pedal sharply. This, how-
ever, does not affect the .choked side, for although
the extra sound is heard all through the hammer
rail type of player-piano, even when the non-accent-
ing side is raised, this is not the case in the choker
type, for the choked side remains at the same
pressure always.
The Tempo Lever.
A very great deal of what can be done to avoid
the difficulties created by the fixed division of all
players, such as we have described, is to be traced
to right manipulation of the tempo lever. In an
arpeggioed chord, for instance, by manipulating the
tempo lever so as to make a slight stop on any one
of the tones, sufficiently long only to enable the
choker to be released and depressed again, or the
pedal to be depressed, an accent can b^ 1 given on
any part of the chord. Again, the needed gram-
matical accent in the accompaniment on the first
beat of the bar can be given that way, and always
could be, in fact, since a slight pause on the first
beat is always of good effect.
There are many other ideas of the same sort to
be worked out. For instance, so much of what is
called "touch" in ordinary piano playing depends
upon the grouping of the musical phrases that an
accent can be had often, and always can be im-
proved where it could be had anyway, merely by
making a slight pause on the right tone and then
sweeping on again in original tempo.
Many ideas of value will come to the player-
pianist who considers these facts. Trills can be
accented, long runs made to sound lifelike, accom-
paniments deprived of woodenness and a real
"life" given to the delivery of a melody, by manipu-
lation of the tempo lever. The fundamental rule
as to phrasing in musical interpretation might be
stated as follows:
The playing of music is oratory ; the delivery of
an address in verse of highest emotional import.
Every art of speech which is allowable to the ora-
tor is allowable also to the musician.
Retarding the Note-
When the simultaneous tone difficulty comes
there is one thing that can be done. If the tracker
bar is situated conveniently enough, as in most
grand players, or as in the A. B. Chase Artistano
in either form, one can place one's finger on the
perforation to be accented and hold it back slightly
until the rest of the chord has sounded. Then let
k be sounded out by itself. This is not easy, but
if done quickly enough (especially quickly), it
gives a good accent in almost all cases.
This is a very interesting subject, and there are
many other things that can be said about it. 1
shall return to it.
Store Rack for 500 Music Rolls-$12
6J4 feet high, 3 feet wide, holding 500 rolls. Made of metal with
bright copper finish. Keeps rolls properly classified and displays
them so you SELL rolls instead of storing them. Send the $12
today on a money-back-unless-satisfied plan.
If yon want more details
before sending the $12,
ask for Folder No. 8.
The
Syracuse Wire Works, Syracuse, N. Y.
Future scanning projects are planned by the International Arcade Museum Library (IAML).