Music Trade Review

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out the world a* the producer of "The instrument
of the Immortals". No greater tribute can be paid
to any house in any industry than the one we heard
recently coining from the mouth of another piano
manufacturer when he said, "It certainly would be
a sorry day for the piano industry if there were no
House of Steinway." It is truly an illustrious house
which has always been and always will be looked up
to by every branch of the music industry and one
which through its policies over the last century has
commanded the respect of every piano manufacturer,
large and small. Many times there have been occa-
sions when Steinway & Sons could have used their
tremendous prestige in creating a Steinway demand
which might have proved successful for them but
detrimental to the industry at large. But, those of
the Steinway clan who have conducted the business
since 1853 have always taken cognizance of what
might happen to the industry if this procedure were
inaugurated by them. So, today, they stand at the
pinnacle of their success, still being conducted by the
fourth and fifth generations of the Steinway family,
still producing instruments of absolutely the high-
est quality, and still commanding the respect of the
peoples and the music industries of the world. That
is a record of achievement not many can point to
and one that not only Steinway & Sons should be
proud of but the entire American Music industry.
Our Sincere Congratulations.
Interest in Group Piano
A
Lessons
MONG the pleasing things which have hap-
pened during the last month have been a few
letters and telephone calls from piano dealers
who have asked us about the conducting of group
piano lessons by a dealer. This is very good evidence
that the idea of these group piano lessons is being
thought about by a great many more dealers than
ever gave it any attention before. But. for those
dealers that have been thinking about it and have
not yet made up their minds just what to do, we
suggest that they write to the American Music Con-
ference in Chicago and get the information which
they have regarding the conducting of these lessons.
It has been proved through surveys that those dealers
who are conducting group piano lessons, either in
their stores or elsewhere in connection with their
business, have been doing a very steady and profit-
able piano business. It is pleasing to note that this
idea has caught on in a great many cities and that
many dealers are now trying to promote the piano
lessons in the schools where they are not being con-
ducted in their territory. Undoubtedly one way for
a dealer to help this along is to show how it can be
done in his own organization. In that way there is
a very good illustration of what can be done, and
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW, SEPTEMBER, 1953
demonstrated for music supervisors, boards of edu-
cation, etc. Of course, a dealer may feel that by
helping inaugurate such a plan in the schools, when
he has had a school of his own, he might be promot-
ing the business of his competitors, but by and large
we think it will be found that the more activity that
is found in a community along these lines the more
pianos will be sold, not only by the dealer who helps
promote the idea but by everybody in that territory.
In fact, everyone will get his share and the general
interest in piano will grow and grow. It has been
predicted that the piano industry will produce ap-
proximately 180.000 pianos this year. That just
shows that the promotion of group piano lessons for
children is gradually taking effect. There is no ques-
tion that the more we have of it the better off the
piano business will be in the future. In our opinion,
at last the piano industry has found the one thing
that is going to help increase production and we
hope that there will never be any let down of teach-
ing the children from generation to generation in
the group manner. According to a report which we
have just received on the summer courses at the
School of Music of the University of Southern Cali-
fornia, a photo of which is reproduced on our front
cover, conducted in August by Mrs. Fay Templeton
Frisch more teachers, musical directors and superin-
tendents from states all over the Union attended than
ever before. In fact after seeing the demonstrations
of group piano lessons at one of the piano workshops,
one superintendent decided that his schools did not
have enough pianos and immediately placed a sub-
stantial order for more. We suggest, therefore, that if
any dealer who reads this has been giving the group
piano lessons serious thought, he just stop thinking
about it and start acting about it.
II