Music Trade Review
Issue: 1921 Vol. 73 N. 18 - Page 7
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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
OCTOBER 29, 1921
The A rt of the Player-Pianist
1111
Illlllllll
• The M o w i n g is the twelfth in a series of articles by Wil-
liam Braid White. The aim of the series is to teach the
salesman and the music lover the secret of playing the
player-piano artistically, a secret apparently knc»wn to
few, but which can readily be imparted to anyone who is
interested in music and is willing to give the player-piano
.a fair trial. At the present time, when it is more than
ever necessary to attack the selling problem from the stand-
point of demonstration, this series should be extremely
valuable.
IN CONCLUSION
The reader who has followed me so far will, by
now, have come to see that the art of the player-
pianist is not at all different from other arts in
requiring care, patience and labor for its com-
plete mastery. In fact, no one can have the
pleasure of music appreciation without first go-
ing through the only possible process whereby it
can be attained. Until one has learned for one-
self what to do and how to do it, until one has
discovered what music is all about and how it
can be understood, there is no possibility of
obtaining any deep joy from producing or from
listening to music. There is a common belief
that to listen to music understandingly needs
only the opportunity and much of the campaign
for the reproducing piano has been based upon
that extremely fallacious belief. To listen with
pleasure to any music which is not obviously of
the simplest and, therefore, least interesting con-
struction, one must know what to listen for:
and that means that one must have acquired
previously some understanding of how musical
material is handled. To acquire the art of playing
the player-piano is to acquire simultaneously an
•excellent working knowledge of musical form
and of the methods of composers in applying that
form according to their individual genius.
Music Appreciation and the Player
That there are other methods for acquiring an
educated appreciation of music" need not be said;
but in the present case I am talking to those
whose musical adventures are bound up with
the player-piano in some form or other. To such
persons, to all, in fact, who have not learned
the art of music in the old«r way, I repeat that
the best possible method for obtaining a working
knowledge of music is to be found in acquiring
the art of playing the player-piano artistically.
It is, therefore, absurd, as well as totally illogi-
cal, to suppose that the art of playing the player-
piano involves wasted effort. No matter what
improvements may be made year after year in
THE WONDERFU
LEERNOTE
r Piano
ker Bar Cleaner
INfUREf EVERY NOTE PLAYING
MELPr TO BRING OUT THE FULL
TONE BEAUTY OF PLAYER
EQUIPPED WITH SPECIAL
VALVE 57CREEN FEATUREf
THAT COLLECT THE DIRT
^PREVENT DEVICE FROM
GETTING OUT OF ORDER
W.
Export Department:
42nd St.. New York City. U. S. A.
Canadian Distributor:
Jno. A. Morris, Toronto, Canada.
FOR TONE, DF.AUTY
AND LASTING
A
the construction of those ingenious instruments awakes to realize the inexhaustible wealth which
which reproduce the playing of individual pianists, lies hidden in even the shortest pieces of great
the fact remains that if they are to be of the music. From that day one is a player-pianist
least use in spreading among the masses of the in earnest and not just for fun.
people a love for good music their use must be
Moderation in choice, restraint in performance
preceded by some sort of general training in the and patience in study are the three qualities
elements of musical form. That training is being which the beginning player-pianist most needs
given now by the foot-power player-piano, and if he is to avoid that encounter with the demon
no possible substitute for this instrument, in Facility, in which so many well-intentioned ones
respect of this essential function, can be found have found themselves conquered.
in the whole field of music.
The Mental Gain
The Rewards for the Effort
And, in the second place, let me emphasize the
But it would not be sufficient for a justification satisfaction which comes only from thoroughness.
of the work I have been doing in these articles When one has learned how to give a really satis-
to allege, or even to prove, that a player-pianist fying performance of even the simplest piece of
is ipso facto an appreciator of good music. It music the mental and spiritual gain is enormous.
would not be sufficient to allege or even to prove Whatever trouble one has taken seems as noth-
that the reproducing piano can only succeed with ing. Nor should it be forgotten that the actual
the general public in so far as its work is pre- amount of mental and physical effort needed to
ceded by the training which the foot-power master a player-piano interpretation is never
player-piano gives. To justify the claim that it worth considering alongside the wonderful re-
is worth while to become a player pianist, in sults it brings.
the most serious sense of that term, one must
Freedom From Tradition
show that the labor involved is able to bring
Which leads to the remark that in the selection
with it ancillary compensations of the most defi- of music for study the beginning player-pianist
nite sort. We must, in effect, be able to show is likely to be confused by the very wealth of the
that to undertake the task of becoming a player- material before him. In the previous article I
pianist is to undertake a very pleasant, a very made some suggestions calculated to facilitate
jolly, an amusing, an interesting, an absorbing judicious choice and to them I wish now merely
task, which demands no very special accomplish- to add one general observation. That is to say,
ments and which, above all things, does not there is no good sense in attempting to go by
require a lot of mysterious inborn gifts in the any set rules. Whatever the professional musi-
individual who commences it.
cian may wish to know about the externals of
In the articles which have gone before my musical form the player-pianist approaches his
task has been to show how one learns to play subject from a different direction. It is, there-
the player-piano artistically, assuming that, be- fore, better for him to choose without fear of
fore the work is taken up, no previous formal tradition, beginning, however, with the simple
musical knowledge exists in the reader. In con- and easily comprehended and going forward only
cluding the series I wish to add, now, certain gradually as musical thought becomes clearer
reflections which that reader may find useful. and as, in the light of increased familiarity, the
earlier sense of satisfaction with the lighter and
The Joy of Doing
In the first pla^e, then, let me speak for a more trivial ceases to exist.
moment of the thorough pleasure and real joy
Debussy or Bach?
which come to the man or woman who takes up
I have found it almost invariably true that
in earnest the study of the artistic side of the when the beauties of contrapuntal music are
player-piano. As I said last month, the greatest brought before ordinarily intelligent minds, not
enemy to ultimate success is the demon of facil- previously prejudiced either for or against, the
ity, that fatal facility which causes so many to reaction is nearly always instantaneous and
run through volume after volume of musical lit- favorable. The architectonic is simple, easily
erature without retaining hold upon one atom grasped by the ear, and superb when its outlines
of the mass. If the joy of which I speak is have once been caught. The construction is so
to be realized in any satisfactory measure re- logical and so coherent that the normal mind, ac-
straint must govern from the first. There are customed to coherent and definite structure in
those who can be trusted to come back to sanity other forms of mental activity, is at once struck
after gorging themselves with musical food with admiration. I have met many business
which they are, as yet, unfitted to digest, but they men who could not stand modern music of the
are few. Restraint in choice and moderation in
Debussy school, but who loved the clavier and
playing through: let these guide us from the first. organ preludes and fugues of Sebastian Bach and
Festina Lente
the other masters of his period.
And, again, if this real joy is ever to be made
It is too bad that so little encouragement is
a permanent part of our experience it is essen- given to the beginning player-pianist, and espe-
tial that the budding player-pianist should be cially too bad that the commercial interests which
willing to take time to learn interpretation com- would most profit from that encouragement are
pletely. To go through a mass of musical litera- so neglectful. Yet there are signs that a bet-
ture in a perfunctory way is perhaps to acquire ter day is at hand. The columns of this paper
a superficial acquaintance with very much music; show that player manufacturers and music roll
an acquaintance which enables one to recognize men are waking up to their past omissions and
a melofly as belonging to this or that composer. are seeing that they have overlooked the large
But it is not to learn the art. To interpret is to numbers of men and women who would like to
work intensively rather than extensively, to be make the player-piano, for themselves and for
willing to go over a Chopin nocturne, for in- their own use and advantage, an artistic musical
stance, measure by measure and even note by instrument of interpretation. As the awakening
note, till not only the broad lines of the musical to the needs of this class becomes more general
concept are laid clear, but also the interior pas- the need for work, such as that which I now
sages, the ornaments, the subtle secondary bring to a close, will, perhaps, be more generally
rhythms and accents, begin to impose themselves realized than it can at present be said to be.
upon the consciousness. Then, gradually, one
(The End)
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
OCTOBER 29, 1921
The A rt of the Player-Pianist
1111
Illlllllll
• The M o w i n g is the twelfth in a series of articles by Wil-
liam Braid White. The aim of the series is to teach the
salesman and the music lover the secret of playing the
player-piano artistically, a secret apparently knc»wn to
few, but which can readily be imparted to anyone who is
interested in music and is willing to give the player-piano
.a fair trial. At the present time, when it is more than
ever necessary to attack the selling problem from the stand-
point of demonstration, this series should be extremely
valuable.
IN CONCLUSION
The reader who has followed me so far will, by
now, have come to see that the art of the player-
pianist is not at all different from other arts in
requiring care, patience and labor for its com-
plete mastery. In fact, no one can have the
pleasure of music appreciation without first go-
ing through the only possible process whereby it
can be attained. Until one has learned for one-
self what to do and how to do it, until one has
discovered what music is all about and how it
can be understood, there is no possibility of
obtaining any deep joy from producing or from
listening to music. There is a common belief
that to listen to music understandingly needs
only the opportunity and much of the campaign
for the reproducing piano has been based upon
that extremely fallacious belief. To listen with
pleasure to any music which is not obviously of
the simplest and, therefore, least interesting con-
struction, one must know what to listen for:
and that means that one must have acquired
previously some understanding of how musical
material is handled. To acquire the art of playing
the player-piano is to acquire simultaneously an
•excellent working knowledge of musical form
and of the methods of composers in applying that
form according to their individual genius.
Music Appreciation and the Player
That there are other methods for acquiring an
educated appreciation of music" need not be said;
but in the present case I am talking to those
whose musical adventures are bound up with
the player-piano in some form or other. To such
persons, to all, in fact, who have not learned
the art of music in the old«r way, I repeat that
the best possible method for obtaining a working
knowledge of music is to be found in acquiring
the art of playing the player-piano artistically.
It is, therefore, absurd, as well as totally illogi-
cal, to suppose that the art of playing the player-
piano involves wasted effort. No matter what
improvements may be made year after year in
THE WONDERFU
LEERNOTE
r Piano
ker Bar Cleaner
INfUREf EVERY NOTE PLAYING
MELPr TO BRING OUT THE FULL
TONE BEAUTY OF PLAYER
EQUIPPED WITH SPECIAL
VALVE 57CREEN FEATUREf
THAT COLLECT THE DIRT
^PREVENT DEVICE FROM
GETTING OUT OF ORDER
W.
Export Department:
42nd St.. New York City. U. S. A.
Canadian Distributor:
Jno. A. Morris, Toronto, Canada.
FOR TONE, DF.AUTY
AND LASTING
A
the construction of those ingenious instruments awakes to realize the inexhaustible wealth which
which reproduce the playing of individual pianists, lies hidden in even the shortest pieces of great
the fact remains that if they are to be of the music. From that day one is a player-pianist
least use in spreading among the masses of the in earnest and not just for fun.
people a love for good music their use must be
Moderation in choice, restraint in performance
preceded by some sort of general training in the and patience in study are the three qualities
elements of musical form. That training is being which the beginning player-pianist most needs
given now by the foot-power player-piano, and if he is to avoid that encounter with the demon
no possible substitute for this instrument, in Facility, in which so many well-intentioned ones
respect of this essential function, can be found have found themselves conquered.
in the whole field of music.
The Mental Gain
The Rewards for the Effort
And, in the second place, let me emphasize the
But it would not be sufficient for a justification satisfaction which comes only from thoroughness.
of the work I have been doing in these articles When one has learned how to give a really satis-
to allege, or even to prove, that a player-pianist fying performance of even the simplest piece of
is ipso facto an appreciator of good music. It music the mental and spiritual gain is enormous.
would not be sufficient to allege or even to prove Whatever trouble one has taken seems as noth-
that the reproducing piano can only succeed with ing. Nor should it be forgotten that the actual
the general public in so far as its work is pre- amount of mental and physical effort needed to
ceded by the training which the foot-power master a player-piano interpretation is never
player-piano gives. To justify the claim that it worth considering alongside the wonderful re-
is worth while to become a player pianist, in sults it brings.
the most serious sense of that term, one must
Freedom From Tradition
show that the labor involved is able to bring
Which leads to the remark that in the selection
with it ancillary compensations of the most defi- of music for study the beginning player-pianist
nite sort. We must, in effect, be able to show is likely to be confused by the very wealth of the
that to undertake the task of becoming a player- material before him. In the previous article I
pianist is to undertake a very pleasant, a very made some suggestions calculated to facilitate
jolly, an amusing, an interesting, an absorbing judicious choice and to them I wish now merely
task, which demands no very special accomplish- to add one general observation. That is to say,
ments and which, above all things, does not there is no good sense in attempting to go by
require a lot of mysterious inborn gifts in the any set rules. Whatever the professional musi-
individual who commences it.
cian may wish to know about the externals of
In the articles which have gone before my musical form the player-pianist approaches his
task has been to show how one learns to play subject from a different direction. It is, there-
the player-piano artistically, assuming that, be- fore, better for him to choose without fear of
fore the work is taken up, no previous formal tradition, beginning, however, with the simple
musical knowledge exists in the reader. In con- and easily comprehended and going forward only
cluding the series I wish to add, now, certain gradually as musical thought becomes clearer
reflections which that reader may find useful. and as, in the light of increased familiarity, the
earlier sense of satisfaction with the lighter and
The Joy of Doing
In the first pla^e, then, let me speak for a more trivial ceases to exist.
moment of the thorough pleasure and real joy
Debussy or Bach?
which come to the man or woman who takes up
I have found it almost invariably true that
in earnest the study of the artistic side of the when the beauties of contrapuntal music are
player-piano. As I said last month, the greatest brought before ordinarily intelligent minds, not
enemy to ultimate success is the demon of facil- previously prejudiced either for or against, the
ity, that fatal facility which causes so many to reaction is nearly always instantaneous and
run through volume after volume of musical lit- favorable. The architectonic is simple, easily
erature without retaining hold upon one atom grasped by the ear, and superb when its outlines
of the mass. If the joy of which I speak is have once been caught. The construction is so
to be realized in any satisfactory measure re- logical and so coherent that the normal mind, ac-
straint must govern from the first. There are customed to coherent and definite structure in
those who can be trusted to come back to sanity other forms of mental activity, is at once struck
after gorging themselves with musical food with admiration. I have met many business
which they are, as yet, unfitted to digest, but they men who could not stand modern music of the
are few. Restraint in choice and moderation in
Debussy school, but who loved the clavier and
playing through: let these guide us from the first. organ preludes and fugues of Sebastian Bach and
Festina Lente
the other masters of his period.
And, again, if this real joy is ever to be made
It is too bad that so little encouragement is
a permanent part of our experience it is essen- given to the beginning player-pianist, and espe-
tial that the budding player-pianist should be cially too bad that the commercial interests which
willing to take time to learn interpretation com- would most profit from that encouragement are
pletely. To go through a mass of musical litera- so neglectful. Yet there are signs that a bet-
ture in a perfunctory way is perhaps to acquire ter day is at hand. The columns of this paper
a superficial acquaintance with very much music; show that player manufacturers and music roll
an acquaintance which enables one to recognize men are waking up to their past omissions and
a melofly as belonging to this or that composer. are seeing that they have overlooked the large
But it is not to learn the art. To interpret is to numbers of men and women who would like to
work intensively rather than extensively, to be make the player-piano, for themselves and for
willing to go over a Chopin nocturne, for in- their own use and advantage, an artistic musical
stance, measure by measure and even note by instrument of interpretation. As the awakening
note, till not only the broad lines of the musical to the needs of this class becomes more general
concept are laid clear, but also the interior pas- the need for work, such as that which I now
sages, the ornaments, the subtle secondary bring to a close, will, perhaps, be more generally
rhythms and accents, begin to impose themselves realized than it can at present be said to be.
upon the consciousness. Then, gradually, one
(The End)
Future scanning projects are planned by the International Arcade Museum Library (IAML).