Music Trade Review
Issue: 1931 Vol. 90 N. 4 - Page 31
Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE
MUSIC
TRADE
REVIEW,
at A 27.5 cycles. Even so, it is evident
that neither sonority nor clarity could be ex-
pected. If, however, recognizing this fact,
we should reduce the tension of the string
to the lowest point possible, that is to say,
as low as we could without actually permit-
ting the string to rattle under the blows of
the hammer, and if, moreover, we were to
use very soft hammers, we should be able,
probably, to obtain a soft, not unpleasing
tone, with the pitch fairly well marked and
the string tunable, but without sonority or
high power. In other words, we should be
making a start at the bad end of the piano
towards a tone quality suited to the domestic
room, a chamber quality in fact, a quality
which may be charming for amateur and,
indeed, for any private use, but which in
no way at all will compete with concert
tone or even try to imitate it.
Such an instrument as I have described
would of course be scaled throughout on
DISTINCTIVE
TONE QUALITY
April, 1931
low tension. I should go down quite as
low as 100 pounds for the treble, beginning
at the upper end with No. 12 wire and
utilizing core wire as thin as No. 13 for the
higher bass strings. I should use very soft
hammers throughout and I should attempt
from end to end to keep in mind the ideal of
a tone satisfactory for private use, a tone
which will not penetrate beyond the room
in which it is produced, but which will
within that room be sweet and charming.
RECOGNIZING FACTS
It is perfectly true that a grand piano of
any size from 65 inches up can be designed
and built to produce a tone sonorous and
powerful throughout. Such a tone, however,
cannot be produced on a piano of hori-
zontal type of which the overall length does
not exceed 53 or 54 inches. The thing
cannot be done. It would, therefore, lie wiser,
in my opinion, to design pianos of the pro-
posed new tonal type for sizes from 48 to
54 inches and of the older only 60 inches
upwards.
The ideal domestic piano, perfectly fitted
for a large room and to be played by culti-
vated amateur musicians, should 'be not less
than 6 nor more than 7 feet long. Since,
however, the sales of such a piano must
always be comparatively small, I am con-
vinced that the path of wisdom, as to in-
struments much smaller and cheaper, is to
build them for the tone which they can
actually produce, not to make attempts
necessarily vain to do what in the nature
of the case is impossible.
THE PLAYER PIANO AGAIN
For generations Poehlmann
Music Wire and Fly Brand
Tuning Pins have made many
pianos famous for their re-
nowned tonal qualities.
The continued prestige of Fly Brand Pins
and Poehlmann Wire is due solely to
quality. Every detail is watched minutely.
Made from special drawn wire by men
who have done nothing else for a lifetime,
they embody every known requisite for
quality. That is why many manufacturers
of high-grade pianos demand Poehlmann
Wire and Fly Brand Pins.
SOLE AGENT U. S. A.
American Piano Supply Co.
Division of
HAMMACHER-SCHLEMMER
& COMPANY
104-106 East 13th Street
New York, N. Y.
Mr? Chauncey Bond, of the Weaver Piano
Co., has kindly commented upon my recent
observations concerning the pedal player-
piano. I am grateful for his sympathetic
attitude and I agree with him that only the
stupidity of those who have had the sales
of player pianos in their hands can possibly
explain the decline of what ought to have
been the most successful permanent type of
piano. I feel to-day just as strongly as I
ever did in years past, that the player-piano
might and should have been the most power-
ful means ever devised for building up
personal production of music among the mil-
lions. It is just beginning to dawn upon
the trade that passive listening is merely
passive listening and that, being passive, it
is entirely without power to produce any-
thing out of itself. I will say with perfect
frankness and very positively that, in my
opinion, radio of itself does not provide the
solution to the problem of awaking active
interest in music among the masses. The
admirable work now being done on the air
by Dr. Walter Damrosch does indeed and
undoubtedly help those who already have
some glimmerings of artistic taste in music;
but it does not and I think cannot of itself
awake minds entirely closed to the message
of music. W 7 hat the masses need is musical
atmosphere in the home, and that can only
come from personal participation in the pro-
duction of music. That is where the player-
piano comes in; and I say that if those who
had its destinies in their hands twenty years
ago had perceived this fact and had de-
signed their policies upon it, they would to-
day be selling these instruments in vast and
increasing quantities. There is plenty of
latent talent and plenty of dormant interest
in music. The question is, how to awake
these. I say that the right sort of player-
piano, rightly built, rightly merchandised,
could do the awaking. The present inter-
est in class piano teaching is splendid and
I hope that it will accomplish all its pro-
moters hope; but the player-piano could have
accomplished as much, more easily and with-
out the interposition of the present distress-
ing and drawn-out stage of transition.
I began to study the playing of the player-
piano in 1905, twenty-six years ago.
I
have never regretted the money and the time,
not to mention the good, hard labor spent in
this pursuit. To-day one of my greatest
pleasures is to play, almost every evening, my
grand player with all my own gadgets loaded
onto it. Once a week I play classical trios,
violin-piano and 'cello-piano sonatas, and
similar ensemble music with musical friends,
who play violin and violoncello profession-
ally. These musicians are quite willing to
play ensemble with the player-piano.
The moral is obvious. I shall not labor it.
NEW AMCO PIANO BENCH
FOLDER IS PUBLISHED
The Cowen Furniture Co., 415 West Su-
perior street, Chicago, who make the well-
known Amco quality piano benches, have just
put out a four-page illustrated folder in
color, showing the large line of Amco benches
in a variety of designs and finishes.
President L. D. Cowen, referring to im-
proved trade conditions, said, "Piano dealer
customers are almost invariably in a hurry.
The general tendency is to order as needed,
which means after a sale is made the dealer
does not want to carry a stock of benches.
We meet this situation by prompt shipments
as our facilities permit carrying a full line.
Next to good material and finish is the need
for filling orders at once, and we pride our-
selves on prompt shipments in every case."
SKINNER BUYS SEARLES
ORGAN FACTORY AND HALL
Ernest M. Skinner, head of the Skinner
Organ Co., recently purchased the organ
factory and organ hall of Edward F. Searles
at Methuen, Mass. The hall is equipped
with an elaborate organ and Mr. Skinner
states that it will be used as a meeting place
for the American Guild of Organists and
other organizations.
Estate/
/HAN UFACTORER
BUCKSKIN.
1049—3rd St.
NORTH BERGEN. N. J.
T«!.: 7—4367
THE
MUSIC
TRADE
REVIEW,
at A 27.5 cycles. Even so, it is evident
that neither sonority nor clarity could be ex-
pected. If, however, recognizing this fact,
we should reduce the tension of the string
to the lowest point possible, that is to say,
as low as we could without actually permit-
ting the string to rattle under the blows of
the hammer, and if, moreover, we were to
use very soft hammers, we should be able,
probably, to obtain a soft, not unpleasing
tone, with the pitch fairly well marked and
the string tunable, but without sonority or
high power. In other words, we should be
making a start at the bad end of the piano
towards a tone quality suited to the domestic
room, a chamber quality in fact, a quality
which may be charming for amateur and,
indeed, for any private use, but which in
no way at all will compete with concert
tone or even try to imitate it.
Such an instrument as I have described
would of course be scaled throughout on
DISTINCTIVE
TONE QUALITY
April, 1931
low tension. I should go down quite as
low as 100 pounds for the treble, beginning
at the upper end with No. 12 wire and
utilizing core wire as thin as No. 13 for the
higher bass strings. I should use very soft
hammers throughout and I should attempt
from end to end to keep in mind the ideal of
a tone satisfactory for private use, a tone
which will not penetrate beyond the room
in which it is produced, but which will
within that room be sweet and charming.
RECOGNIZING FACTS
It is perfectly true that a grand piano of
any size from 65 inches up can be designed
and built to produce a tone sonorous and
powerful throughout. Such a tone, however,
cannot be produced on a piano of hori-
zontal type of which the overall length does
not exceed 53 or 54 inches. The thing
cannot be done. It would, therefore, lie wiser,
in my opinion, to design pianos of the pro-
posed new tonal type for sizes from 48 to
54 inches and of the older only 60 inches
upwards.
The ideal domestic piano, perfectly fitted
for a large room and to be played by culti-
vated amateur musicians, should 'be not less
than 6 nor more than 7 feet long. Since,
however, the sales of such a piano must
always be comparatively small, I am con-
vinced that the path of wisdom, as to in-
struments much smaller and cheaper, is to
build them for the tone which they can
actually produce, not to make attempts
necessarily vain to do what in the nature
of the case is impossible.
THE PLAYER PIANO AGAIN
For generations Poehlmann
Music Wire and Fly Brand
Tuning Pins have made many
pianos famous for their re-
nowned tonal qualities.
The continued prestige of Fly Brand Pins
and Poehlmann Wire is due solely to
quality. Every detail is watched minutely.
Made from special drawn wire by men
who have done nothing else for a lifetime,
they embody every known requisite for
quality. That is why many manufacturers
of high-grade pianos demand Poehlmann
Wire and Fly Brand Pins.
SOLE AGENT U. S. A.
American Piano Supply Co.
Division of
HAMMACHER-SCHLEMMER
& COMPANY
104-106 East 13th Street
New York, N. Y.
Mr? Chauncey Bond, of the Weaver Piano
Co., has kindly commented upon my recent
observations concerning the pedal player-
piano. I am grateful for his sympathetic
attitude and I agree with him that only the
stupidity of those who have had the sales
of player pianos in their hands can possibly
explain the decline of what ought to have
been the most successful permanent type of
piano. I feel to-day just as strongly as I
ever did in years past, that the player-piano
might and should have been the most power-
ful means ever devised for building up
personal production of music among the mil-
lions. It is just beginning to dawn upon
the trade that passive listening is merely
passive listening and that, being passive, it
is entirely without power to produce any-
thing out of itself. I will say with perfect
frankness and very positively that, in my
opinion, radio of itself does not provide the
solution to the problem of awaking active
interest in music among the masses. The
admirable work now being done on the air
by Dr. Walter Damrosch does indeed and
undoubtedly help those who already have
some glimmerings of artistic taste in music;
but it does not and I think cannot of itself
awake minds entirely closed to the message
of music. W 7 hat the masses need is musical
atmosphere in the home, and that can only
come from personal participation in the pro-
duction of music. That is where the player-
piano comes in; and I say that if those who
had its destinies in their hands twenty years
ago had perceived this fact and had de-
signed their policies upon it, they would to-
day be selling these instruments in vast and
increasing quantities. There is plenty of
latent talent and plenty of dormant interest
in music. The question is, how to awake
these. I say that the right sort of player-
piano, rightly built, rightly merchandised,
could do the awaking. The present inter-
est in class piano teaching is splendid and
I hope that it will accomplish all its pro-
moters hope; but the player-piano could have
accomplished as much, more easily and with-
out the interposition of the present distress-
ing and drawn-out stage of transition.
I began to study the playing of the player-
piano in 1905, twenty-six years ago.
I
have never regretted the money and the time,
not to mention the good, hard labor spent in
this pursuit. To-day one of my greatest
pleasures is to play, almost every evening, my
grand player with all my own gadgets loaded
onto it. Once a week I play classical trios,
violin-piano and 'cello-piano sonatas, and
similar ensemble music with musical friends,
who play violin and violoncello profession-
ally. These musicians are quite willing to
play ensemble with the player-piano.
The moral is obvious. I shall not labor it.
NEW AMCO PIANO BENCH
FOLDER IS PUBLISHED
The Cowen Furniture Co., 415 West Su-
perior street, Chicago, who make the well-
known Amco quality piano benches, have just
put out a four-page illustrated folder in
color, showing the large line of Amco benches
in a variety of designs and finishes.
President L. D. Cowen, referring to im-
proved trade conditions, said, "Piano dealer
customers are almost invariably in a hurry.
The general tendency is to order as needed,
which means after a sale is made the dealer
does not want to carry a stock of benches.
We meet this situation by prompt shipments
as our facilities permit carrying a full line.
Next to good material and finish is the need
for filling orders at once, and we pride our-
selves on prompt shipments in every case."
SKINNER BUYS SEARLES
ORGAN FACTORY AND HALL
Ernest M. Skinner, head of the Skinner
Organ Co., recently purchased the organ
factory and organ hall of Edward F. Searles
at Methuen, Mass. The hall is equipped
with an elaborate organ and Mr. Skinner
states that it will be used as a meeting place
for the American Guild of Organists and
other organizations.
Estate/
/HAN UFACTORER
BUCKSKIN.
1049—3rd St.
NORTH BERGEN. N. J.
T«!.: 7—4367
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