Music Trade Review

Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE MUSIC TRADE
MARCH 26, 1921
REVIEW
V\ herein the Editor of This Player Section, Y iewing Men and Events Through
the Rose-tinted Glasses of an Optimist, Discourses at Random on Things of
Interest to the Industry, Seasoning His Remarks With Sound Philosophy
Will there be any serious player discussion at
the convention? The question is worth asking,
even though it has been asked so often before
and in vain. Usually, conventions are horribly
disappointing in respect of bringing out worth-
while talk on subjects which ought to be ven-
tilated. Apart from matters of purely economic
interest no one will deny that there are several
most important, and even essential, matters con-
nected with the commercial, the selling and the
promoting ends of the business which would be
all the better for a little ventilation at the an-
nual general meeting. For instance, if only
player roll manufacturers could come to an
agreement on standardizing the expression per-
forations for electric piano music, or if the
same men could set a definite rule as to the
number of pieces published each month and as
to the classification of such pieces what a great
deal would have been accomplished for the more
orderly organization of the industry! Once
more, if only we could get a sort of retail con-
ference on the subject of salesmanship what a
wonderful thing it would be! Here is a thought
which we shall hopefully lay before the offi-
cials of the Chamber of Commerce. We say,
hopefully, and we add, respectfully.
ered and it is very necessary at the present
time to help the dealer to regain the attitude
which once was his as of course. We have
been noticing recently that certain prominent
manufacturers are going to a great deal of trou-
ble to show their dealers how to tackle anew the
whole problem of reselling the player-piano to
their communities. For this is the truth: the
player-piano has been slipping. The straight,
honest, foot-pumped player-piano, which has
always comprised the very great mass of the
annual output, has been losing its hold on the
affections of the people. The war has had a lot
to do with it, for the war upset all standards
of value and put prices on a pedestal whence
they have been sliding ever since. The people
now cannot understand why the player-piano
does not also come down by a cut of 50 per cent.
It is necessary to teach them that the piano
trade has not been one of the profiteering trades
and that prices are not unfair. That is one job
which manufacturers can greatly help to per-
form. They can help by getting their adver-
tising men down fo the preparation of clean,
well-thought-out copy on values, on the musical
power and beauty of the player-piano, on music
iii the home, and so on. It is pleasing to know
that some manufacturers are doing this very
thing, for, make no mistake about it, player-
p : anos must be "sold" this year.
Helping Mr. Dealer
Goodby, Mr. Jazz
Traveling around in the trade we are con-
stantly learning, new things. One of these is
that the manufacturers are thinking more seri-
ously to-day of methods and manners of re-
tailing their goods than they have ever thought
before in the course of their united careers. The
fact is that the •nanufacturers have come to
realize this year that the dealers need sales
help. After the long dream of the war period
the knack of salesmanship is not easily recov-
There cannot be the least doubt, in the edi-
tor's mind, at least, that we are leaving jazz
behind. This may not please some of the edi-
tor's hearty readers, who may even sneeringly
say that the editor is exemplifying the old
proverb about the wish and the thought and
their respective relations. But although the
writer of these lines most certainly does not
love jazz, it is not that his predilections are here
taking the place of his common-sense. Far
What Will They Talk About?
iiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
The highest class player
actions in the world
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuniniimiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniinniiiiiiiiiiniiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinMiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiim
"The valve unit that made the player famous"
The new "Amphion Accessible Action" is the last word in scientific player
achievement.
It has the complete valve action assembled in a "Demountable
Unit 1 ' giving instant accessibility.
AMPHIONffACTIONS
SYRACUSE
—Your Guarantee
NEW YORK
from it. The truth actually is that the publish-
ers of sheet music are discontinuing the produc-
tion of strictly jazz numbers and the music roll
men have cut out the over-jazzed arrangements
which were so violently popular a year ago.
Now, entirely apart from one's own personal
ideas about that sort of music, there is no doubt
whatever that the player business has gained
nothing of permanent value from the reign of
jazz. We have always maintained that when
music is so overelaborated for the player-piano
as to destroy the pianistic character of the in-
strument- the users of player-pianos must either
become disgusted or begin to shift their interest
to something noisier and better able adequately
to express the ideas which lie behind jazz. For
really the piano, whether it has a player action
in it or not, is unable to carry the burden of
jazz in anything like an adequate manner. The
piano is not suited to that sort of music. Horns,
strings and drums are needed and they must be
grouped in a very peculiar and characteristic
combination before they can produce a real
jazz band. That is the word, "band." A band
is needed to do jazz jazzily enough, and the
p'ayer-pi'ano is not a band. That is really the
whole proposition from beginning to end. The
player-piano, one still has to insist, has not
gained, but lost, from the jazz fad, and it is a
blessing that something more suitable has been
found to take its place.
L
The Opportunity for Research
By the time that the next issue of the Player
Section has come to publication the entire trade
will be thinking about packing its grips and
leaving for Chicago. There is every reason to
believe that there will be a record crowd on
land. The Drake Hotel has already, we learn,
rented all the small stores on the mezzanine
fioors "to various piano houses which are to
exhibit, entertain, receive and so on, from these
temporary headquarters. It is expected that
there will be quite a good deal of exhibiting,
but there is not much likelihood of anything
very new happening. The trade during the last
five years has remained almost stationary in a
technical way, because there has been virtually
no chance to do any betterment work. When
the one great trouble was to secure any sort
of adequate help there was not much chance
of keeping up departments devoted to research.
No, we need not anticipate that the forthcoming
exhibits will provide any startling novelties. But
it is well to point out to the industry that the
coming' year will really give first-class oppor-
tunities to all who actually want to re-examine
their product, to the end of producing something
better for future years. Research should begin
again. The time is propitious and research is
needed, much needed. We sincerely hope that
r.o one imagines it is not needed. We like
optimism, but we dislike foolishness, dislike it
very much. We can stand the chap who looks
on the bright side of things, but decline to be
patient with the person who refuses to see
that to stand still is to slip back.
A. J. CRAFTS HEADS LOCAL ELKS
A. J."Crafts, president of the A. J. Crafts Piano
Co., Richmond, Va., was recently elected
Exalted Ruler of the Richmond Lodge of the
B. P. O. E. Mr. Crafts has been a member of
the Elks for over fifteen years and was elected
to the leadership of the lodge unanimously.