Music Trade Review
Issue: 1925 Vol. 80 N. 13 - Page 9
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MARCH 28, 1925
THE
MUSIC TRADE
9
REVIEW
The Player-Piano and Modern Music
Few Musicians Have Ever Studied This Instrument as a Musical Instrument Per Se—Percussion Tone and
Its Defects—Player Music in Its Greater Development Not Piano Music — The Future
jf
and What Is Likely to Be Accomplished in the Musical Development
RTHUR BLISS is a composer of the most
modern of modern music. He has writ-
ten a concerto for two pianos with or-
chestra of wind instruments. He says that he
uses the pianos, not as solo instruments but as
integral elements of the orchestra, and he de-
votes them to the constant weaving of intricate
patterns of sound which justify the phrase he
uses when he says that they become in this
work "great arabesque-making machines."
This is no doubt very interesting, although
a great many good people who heard the Chi-
cago Symphony Orchestra perform the work a
week or so since must have wondered what it
was all about. A good musician friend of the
present writer aptly describes the so-called seri-
ous music of the moment by saying that a musi-
cian trying to play most of it is always in
trouble, for "when it is right it sounds wrong,
and when it sounds right it is wrong." A great
many modern composers seem to think that if
music is very noisy, very ugly and very inco-
herent, demanding a huge orchestra and kick-
ing up a fearful fuss without any assignable ef-
fect upon the hearers save confusion, it is in
some marvelous fashion expressing the spirit of
the age. Maybe, of course, this is all true; but
it makes one sigh sometimes for jazz, which at
least is jazz and does not pretend to be art or
metaphysics.
Bliss and the "Pianos"
Which outburst is really beside the point, for
the special emphasis we had planned to make
in these remarks was upon another and acces-
sory statement by Mr. Bliss about this exces-
sively peculiar concerto of his. He says of the
piano parts that they are written for "virtuosi
pianists or for pianola players." In other words,
he apparently means that the effects at which
he aims might as well, if not better, be obtained
tliTough the medium of a player-piano (or two)
and music-rolls.
Or to put it another way, Mr. Bliss, as a
representative writer of contemporary music, in
an important work treats the piano rather from
the point of view of its rhythmic and harmonic
value than as an individual field for the exhibi-
tion of the tone-producing capacities of a solo-
ist musician. This is interesting because it
shows how certain defects of the piano, which
have always been understood but very largely
have been ignored by musicians, are becoming
by degrees realized as the really insurmountable
obstacles they are. Which leads of course di-
rectly to the question of what the player-piano
mechanism can do to develop for the piano a
field of activity which is not subject to the
influence of these defects.
Percussion Tone and Its Defects
What are these defects? They are essentially
the hardness of the piano's tone, which arises
from its percussive origin; its evanescent dura-
tion, due to the exceedingly rapid fall in the
vibratory amplitude of the strings after the in-
stant of excitation, and the consequent impos-
sibility of swelling or diminishing a sound after
once it has been excited. These defects have
always prevented the piano from making that
direct and positive appeal, to the heart of the
hearer which the violin and its family so per-
fectly can make. They make the piano, for all
its brilliant qualities, an instrument less appeal-
ing than astonishing; and they prevent it like-
wise from blending well with stringed instru-
ments or for that matter with any other in-
struments at all. Arthur Bliss scores the or-
chestral parts of his concerto for reed and brass
instruments only, leaving out the strings en-
A
tirely, and he gives for this action the very
same reason, namely, that the piano does not
blend well with the strings. But then neither
does it blend perfectly with any other instru-
ments.
Given all these defects, it is perhaps surpris-
ing that the piano has attained its present ex-
alted artistic rank, nor would the attainment be
explicable if we did not realize how much
rhythmic and harmonic powers compensate for
tonal limitations. When, however, we think of
the piano in terms of the pneumatic playing
mechanism, we approach an entirely new field
of possibilities, for we may discover in the
powers of this mechanism ways of overcoming
some of the difficulties which have put the
piano in a second place as a pure tone-maker.
Mr. Bliss seems to consider the piano mainly
for its ability to weave intricate patterns, and
in this respect he is quite right when he leans
toward the player-piano. If he wishes the piano
to be mainly a great machine for making com-
plex and beautiful sound arabesques, he will find
that the player mechanism (or "pianola" as he
calls it) can give him powers which no number
of pianos or pianists without it can possibly
give. He will find that one player-piano will do
a great deal more than two pianos played by
hand on keys.
Player Music Not Piano Music
On the other hand, neither this composer nor
any other we know of save only the American
Doctor Schaaf seems to have grasped the fact
that the technical powers of the player mechan-
ism are really capable of creating for the piano
wholly new tonal capacities, which hitherto
have been supposed to be entirely out of its
reach. Stravinsky and not a few others have
at one time or another talked about composing
music for the player, and have even attempted
something practical in that direction. All such
compositions so far, however, have been merely
piano music somewhat thickened, extended and
embellished, piano music which would require
perhaps four or five hands to play; but which
is essentially piano music nevertheless. Schaaf,
D. E. Ahlers to Open
Knabe Warerooms in Dayton
Well-known Piano Man Heads the Recently
Organized D. E. Ahlers Piano Co. in That
City Which Will Feature the Knabe and
Ampico
DAYTON, O., March 23.—D. E. Ahlers, for eight
years manager of a prominent music store in
this city, and most recently manager of the
Phillips & Crew Piano Co., Atlanta, Ga., has
returned to Dayton as head of the recently
organized D. E. Ahlers Piano Co., which will
shortly open Knabe Warerooms at 34 East
First street, where a notable line of instruments
including the Knabe and Fischer pianos with
the Ampico will be featured in a territory em-
bracing Montgomery County and six other
neighboring counties.
working along original lines, has composed
music for the player-piano as for a separate
and individual instrument. He has discovered
that he can make the player mechanism give
him sustained piano tone by judicious use of
the device of tremendously rapid iteration. He
has written music of which the individual
sounds can be swelled and diminished at will.
He has produced tone colors of an entirely novel
nature through the use of dissonant intervals
played at extraordinary speed. He has shown
that the player-piano is more than a piano, is in
fact a musical instrument of astonishing and
unique individual powers. His sonata for
player-piano and his symphonic concerto for
player piano solo are wonderful works.
One cannot help wishing that some of these
modern composers would use their brains a
little more to investigate the riches of musical
capacity which lie concealed within the mechan-
ism of the player-piano. There is waiting for
the musician in the player-piano a field of un-
limited possibilities, and one can only regret
that so far there has been so little understand-
ing of the wonders it contains. For that matter,
the makers and sellers of player-pianos might
do worse than tell musicians what they are
missing by this neglect.
Pratt Read
Products
Piano Ivory
Piano Keys
Piano Actions
Player Actions
Established in
1806
at Deep River, Conn
Still There
Standard Service and Highest Quality
Special Repair Departments
Maintained for Convenience
of Dealers
John Church to Move
PRATT, READ & CO.
PRATT READ PLAYER ACTION CO.
CHICACO, III., March 23.—The John Church Co.,
225 South Wabash avenue, has taken a ten-year
lease on the ground floor and second floor of
the building now under construction at 421
South Wabash avenue. The new structure ad-
joins the Fine Arts and Studebaker Theatre
Buildings.
Oldest and Best
MARCH 28, 1925
THE
MUSIC TRADE
9
REVIEW
The Player-Piano and Modern Music
Few Musicians Have Ever Studied This Instrument as a Musical Instrument Per Se—Percussion Tone and
Its Defects—Player Music in Its Greater Development Not Piano Music — The Future
jf
and What Is Likely to Be Accomplished in the Musical Development
RTHUR BLISS is a composer of the most
modern of modern music. He has writ-
ten a concerto for two pianos with or-
chestra of wind instruments. He says that he
uses the pianos, not as solo instruments but as
integral elements of the orchestra, and he de-
votes them to the constant weaving of intricate
patterns of sound which justify the phrase he
uses when he says that they become in this
work "great arabesque-making machines."
This is no doubt very interesting, although
a great many good people who heard the Chi-
cago Symphony Orchestra perform the work a
week or so since must have wondered what it
was all about. A good musician friend of the
present writer aptly describes the so-called seri-
ous music of the moment by saying that a musi-
cian trying to play most of it is always in
trouble, for "when it is right it sounds wrong,
and when it sounds right it is wrong." A great
many modern composers seem to think that if
music is very noisy, very ugly and very inco-
herent, demanding a huge orchestra and kick-
ing up a fearful fuss without any assignable ef-
fect upon the hearers save confusion, it is in
some marvelous fashion expressing the spirit of
the age. Maybe, of course, this is all true; but
it makes one sigh sometimes for jazz, which at
least is jazz and does not pretend to be art or
metaphysics.
Bliss and the "Pianos"
Which outburst is really beside the point, for
the special emphasis we had planned to make
in these remarks was upon another and acces-
sory statement by Mr. Bliss about this exces-
sively peculiar concerto of his. He says of the
piano parts that they are written for "virtuosi
pianists or for pianola players." In other words,
he apparently means that the effects at which
he aims might as well, if not better, be obtained
tliTough the medium of a player-piano (or two)
and music-rolls.
Or to put it another way, Mr. Bliss, as a
representative writer of contemporary music, in
an important work treats the piano rather from
the point of view of its rhythmic and harmonic
value than as an individual field for the exhibi-
tion of the tone-producing capacities of a solo-
ist musician. This is interesting because it
shows how certain defects of the piano, which
have always been understood but very largely
have been ignored by musicians, are becoming
by degrees realized as the really insurmountable
obstacles they are. Which leads of course di-
rectly to the question of what the player-piano
mechanism can do to develop for the piano a
field of activity which is not subject to the
influence of these defects.
Percussion Tone and Its Defects
What are these defects? They are essentially
the hardness of the piano's tone, which arises
from its percussive origin; its evanescent dura-
tion, due to the exceedingly rapid fall in the
vibratory amplitude of the strings after the in-
stant of excitation, and the consequent impos-
sibility of swelling or diminishing a sound after
once it has been excited. These defects have
always prevented the piano from making that
direct and positive appeal, to the heart of the
hearer which the violin and its family so per-
fectly can make. They make the piano, for all
its brilliant qualities, an instrument less appeal-
ing than astonishing; and they prevent it like-
wise from blending well with stringed instru-
ments or for that matter with any other in-
struments at all. Arthur Bliss scores the or-
chestral parts of his concerto for reed and brass
instruments only, leaving out the strings en-
A
tirely, and he gives for this action the very
same reason, namely, that the piano does not
blend well with the strings. But then neither
does it blend perfectly with any other instru-
ments.
Given all these defects, it is perhaps surpris-
ing that the piano has attained its present ex-
alted artistic rank, nor would the attainment be
explicable if we did not realize how much
rhythmic and harmonic powers compensate for
tonal limitations. When, however, we think of
the piano in terms of the pneumatic playing
mechanism, we approach an entirely new field
of possibilities, for we may discover in the
powers of this mechanism ways of overcoming
some of the difficulties which have put the
piano in a second place as a pure tone-maker.
Mr. Bliss seems to consider the piano mainly
for its ability to weave intricate patterns, and
in this respect he is quite right when he leans
toward the player-piano. If he wishes the piano
to be mainly a great machine for making com-
plex and beautiful sound arabesques, he will find
that the player mechanism (or "pianola" as he
calls it) can give him powers which no number
of pianos or pianists without it can possibly
give. He will find that one player-piano will do
a great deal more than two pianos played by
hand on keys.
Player Music Not Piano Music
On the other hand, neither this composer nor
any other we know of save only the American
Doctor Schaaf seems to have grasped the fact
that the technical powers of the player mechan-
ism are really capable of creating for the piano
wholly new tonal capacities, which hitherto
have been supposed to be entirely out of its
reach. Stravinsky and not a few others have
at one time or another talked about composing
music for the player, and have even attempted
something practical in that direction. All such
compositions so far, however, have been merely
piano music somewhat thickened, extended and
embellished, piano music which would require
perhaps four or five hands to play; but which
is essentially piano music nevertheless. Schaaf,
D. E. Ahlers to Open
Knabe Warerooms in Dayton
Well-known Piano Man Heads the Recently
Organized D. E. Ahlers Piano Co. in That
City Which Will Feature the Knabe and
Ampico
DAYTON, O., March 23.—D. E. Ahlers, for eight
years manager of a prominent music store in
this city, and most recently manager of the
Phillips & Crew Piano Co., Atlanta, Ga., has
returned to Dayton as head of the recently
organized D. E. Ahlers Piano Co., which will
shortly open Knabe Warerooms at 34 East
First street, where a notable line of instruments
including the Knabe and Fischer pianos with
the Ampico will be featured in a territory em-
bracing Montgomery County and six other
neighboring counties.
working along original lines, has composed
music for the player-piano as for a separate
and individual instrument. He has discovered
that he can make the player mechanism give
him sustained piano tone by judicious use of
the device of tremendously rapid iteration. He
has written music of which the individual
sounds can be swelled and diminished at will.
He has produced tone colors of an entirely novel
nature through the use of dissonant intervals
played at extraordinary speed. He has shown
that the player-piano is more than a piano, is in
fact a musical instrument of astonishing and
unique individual powers. His sonata for
player-piano and his symphonic concerto for
player piano solo are wonderful works.
One cannot help wishing that some of these
modern composers would use their brains a
little more to investigate the riches of musical
capacity which lie concealed within the mechan-
ism of the player-piano. There is waiting for
the musician in the player-piano a field of un-
limited possibilities, and one can only regret
that so far there has been so little understand-
ing of the wonders it contains. For that matter,
the makers and sellers of player-pianos might
do worse than tell musicians what they are
missing by this neglect.
Pratt Read
Products
Piano Ivory
Piano Keys
Piano Actions
Player Actions
Established in
1806
at Deep River, Conn
Still There
Standard Service and Highest Quality
Special Repair Departments
Maintained for Convenience
of Dealers
John Church to Move
PRATT, READ & CO.
PRATT READ PLAYER ACTION CO.
CHICACO, III., March 23.—The John Church Co.,
225 South Wabash avenue, has taken a ten-year
lease on the ground floor and second floor of
the building now under construction at 421
South Wabash avenue. The new structure ad-
joins the Fine Arts and Studebaker Theatre
Buildings.
Oldest and Best
Future scanning projects are planned by the International Arcade Museum Library (IAML).