Presto
Issue: 1927 2110 - Page 58
58
PRESTO-TIMES
AUTOMATIC PIANO
AND ITS MUSIC
How the Instrument and the Roll Have Been
Mutually Helpful in Increasing the Pop-
ular Use and Widespread Popularity
of the Automatic.
far from being the best sellers. The big winners are
the hit reviews, the latest and hottest, and the fact is
made clear by the certain issue each month of several
rolls of that character by the roll manufacturers. The
makers of automatic pianos say the review rolls have
made the instruments more popular than ever before.
And when the roll maker combines groups of big
musical hits on one roll the dealer sells more rolls
and the piano owners take in more money-
HIGHER REQUIREMENTS
CLASS PIANO TEACHING
EXPLAINED TO DEALERS
In the Newer Conditions in This Phase of Music
Business the Broader Tastes of Foreign-Born
Citizens Are Expressed.
How W. L. Bush Introduced the Subject
Before a Gathering of Indiana Dealers
at Indianapolis.
An important factor contributing to the stimula-
Following is the manner in which Will L. Bush
tion of automatic instruments is the improved char- introduced the discussion of piano class les"sons
acter of the automatic music rolls produced today. to an interested group of piano merchants in Indian-
They are in such strong contrast to the crudity of
apolis recently:
the first productions that they must be cited as one
"I will not attempt to give the history or origin
of the reasons for the success of automatic instru- of piano class lessons, because none of us have so
ments. The first rolls, samples of which were shown vital an interest in the past as we have in the present.
at a recent trade convention, consisted of five selec- What we are here for is to give our best efforts, and
tions of sixty-five and forty-four notes and were do our utmost to further the real, practical and rapid
made up into endless rolls by splicing the ends town, city, state and national advancement of music,
together.
with the added and vital intention of giving to the
Then an inventive genius in the industry thought piano—the straight piano so-called, but sometimes a
of the rewind principle, which was a big jump in little warped in spots—its place of supremacy and
evolution. Making pleasure easier is the motive that leadership as the fundamental, basic instrument for
influences all the inventors in the music industry. musical advancement and education.
Note every improvement in music rolls and their
"And now we have solved the heretofore overlooked,
containers and you will admit the truth of the fore- or neglected, problem of establishing a plan of teach-
going assertion. A comparison of the materials in ing in classes of twelve to twenty students, at one
the rolls today and in the earlier rolls will also show time, this, too, with the assurance of even more rapid
that the thought of the inventor was the gaining progress the private lesson gives, and at most eco-
of more pleasure in the use of the rolls by the buyers. nomical cost per pupil. In fact, only one-twentieth
Improvise the Music.
of the cost of a full hour private lesson, thus bring-
But of course the improvement of the music in the ing piano playing directly within the reach of every-
rolls was a paramount thought with the makers. The one and encouraging universal nation-wide instruc-
earlier users of automatic instruments were easy to tion for children or for adults who aspire to learn.
"What the class lesson especially excels in, and how
satisfy in the matter of musical selections. There
it possesses many advantages over any other form of
was little thought of timeliness in the methods of
the roll makers, and dealers never got a calldown teaching, is seen in these facts:
because their stock of rolls was more than six weeks
"First, economy in cost of lessons; second, its in-
from the cutting machine. A popular song wasn'f
spiration to ambition through competitive spirit and
called an antique when it had been heard a few times
desire to excel; third, the combining of sight reading,
The instruments owe something to the improve- ear training, transposition, rhythm, composition and
ment in the music roll, but there's no denying that technic, body and hand positions, deportment, con-
the improved automatic instruments necessitated a centration of mind, plus actual practice on piano in
corresponding degree of improvement in the rolls. class room; fourth, social contact, environment and
The growth in importance of the automatic pianos benefit from cooperation and coordination; fifth, the
and orchestrions has, of course, been accompanied assurance of proper teaching under a certified and
by a corresponding increase in the calls for the rolls graduated teacher under the Curtis System of Normal
to suit the instruments. The regular issues of up-to- Training—a permanent feature of the Bush Con-
date music by a number of houses equipped for the servatory curricula of public school music; sixth, an
making of automatic music rolls, show a steadiness opportunity to secure a regular scholarship and credit
in the demands for that class of music. The marked for work accomplished the first year.
variety in the selections also shows a wide range of
"For piano dealers and manufacturers the great
taste in the owners of electric pianos and orchestrions. possibilities of the class piano lesson as a stimulus
Right in Front.
to sales cannot be over estimated, for sales will in-
The efforts of the automatic music roll makers crease in proportion to the development of this form
today is to practically keep in step with the com- of teaching, which, if made universal or national, as
posers and publishers as far as songs and popular we hope it will be through our private schools, paro-
pieces go, and also to provide music of the better chial and public schools, the demand for pianos will
type. It shows the responsibility attaching to the increase beyond our fondest hopes or wildest dreams."
position of manager of a roll-making department.
In concluding his address Mr. Bush introduced
Some of the users want the latest and others want Miss Helen Curtis, "originator of a class system of
the best, and between the music dealer and his cus- piano teaching which has attracted much notice, the
tomer, insistent on the latest and the best, the roll most successful and original teacher of class piano
manufacturer has a busy time thinking and acting.
lessons and normal preparatory work for teachers of
Possibly there is no clearer indication of the im- this form of instruction, whose outstanding ability
provement in the public taste in music than the enlisted me among tht hundreds and thousands of
higher character of the requirements for the music enthusiastic musical people who know what she has
for antomatic instruments. Automatic pianos and accomplished wherever she has undertaken this splen-
orchestrions are more truly the people's musical in- did work."
struments than anything else in the music dealer's
stock except pianos themselves. The roll orders of
the automatic instrument users expresses prevailing
taste in an unerring way. In recent years people
have been enabled to hear good music in a great
many ways; at the movie shows, on phonographs and
player-pianos, on bands and, more recently still, on
Wilder's Music Store in St. Cloud, Under Able
the radio. But the automatic pianos themselves have
Management of C. G. Kanavel.
been powerful in the encouragement of music.
Enlightening Fact.
Wilder's Music Store, Kissimmee, Florida, has
It used to be the rule that users of automatic pianos opened a branch at St. Cloud, in charge of C. G.
in the cafes, and other places of resort, in foreign Kanavel, and Mrs. Kanavel, who have lived there for
communities limited their purchases of rolls to the three years and have the confidence of the people
particular music of the nationality in greatest num- of the town.
bers there. You heard nothing but Polish music in
Gulbransen pianos, phonographs, small musical in-
a Polish neighborhood, German in a German neigh- struments and sheet music are handled. The store is
borhood, and so on. Today the patrons are more located on New York avenue, in the heart of the
universal in their musical desires. They are broader
business section of St. Cloud.
in their tastes, a fact that is clearly shown in the
As part of the opening feature, a program was
greater variety of the music ordered by the auto- given on the Gulbransen Registering Piano and there
matic piano owners in the so-called foreign sections were piano solos by Miss Ethel Owens and songs by
of the cities, and the country generally.
Mrs. C. G. Kanavel. W. E. Brown, representing the
Automatic pianos have improved musical tastes, Gulbransen Company, attended the inaugural of the
but the truth is that the older standard selections are new store.
January 8, 1927.
COINOLAS
FOR
RESTAURANTS, CAFES and
A M U S E M E N T CENTERS
Style C-2
FROM THE BIGGEST
ORCHESTRION
FLORIDA FIRM OPENS
NEW BRANCH STORE
Tiny Coinola
THE SMALLEST
KEYLESS
Manufactured by
The Operators Piano Co.
715-721 N. Kedzie Ave.
CHICAGO
Enhanced content © 2008-2009 and presented by MBSI - The Musical Box Society International (www.mbsi.org) and the International Arcade Museum (www.arcade-museum.com).
All Rights Reserved. Digitized from the archives of the MBSI with support from NAMM - The International Music Products Association (www.namm.org).
Additional enhancement, optimization, and distribution by the International Arcade Museum. An extensive collection of Presto can be found online at http://www.arcade-museum.com/library/
PRESTO-TIMES
AUTOMATIC PIANO
AND ITS MUSIC
How the Instrument and the Roll Have Been
Mutually Helpful in Increasing the Pop-
ular Use and Widespread Popularity
of the Automatic.
far from being the best sellers. The big winners are
the hit reviews, the latest and hottest, and the fact is
made clear by the certain issue each month of several
rolls of that character by the roll manufacturers. The
makers of automatic pianos say the review rolls have
made the instruments more popular than ever before.
And when the roll maker combines groups of big
musical hits on one roll the dealer sells more rolls
and the piano owners take in more money-
HIGHER REQUIREMENTS
CLASS PIANO TEACHING
EXPLAINED TO DEALERS
In the Newer Conditions in This Phase of Music
Business the Broader Tastes of Foreign-Born
Citizens Are Expressed.
How W. L. Bush Introduced the Subject
Before a Gathering of Indiana Dealers
at Indianapolis.
An important factor contributing to the stimula-
Following is the manner in which Will L. Bush
tion of automatic instruments is the improved char- introduced the discussion of piano class les"sons
acter of the automatic music rolls produced today. to an interested group of piano merchants in Indian-
They are in such strong contrast to the crudity of
apolis recently:
the first productions that they must be cited as one
"I will not attempt to give the history or origin
of the reasons for the success of automatic instru- of piano class lessons, because none of us have so
ments. The first rolls, samples of which were shown vital an interest in the past as we have in the present.
at a recent trade convention, consisted of five selec- What we are here for is to give our best efforts, and
tions of sixty-five and forty-four notes and were do our utmost to further the real, practical and rapid
made up into endless rolls by splicing the ends town, city, state and national advancement of music,
together.
with the added and vital intention of giving to the
Then an inventive genius in the industry thought piano—the straight piano so-called, but sometimes a
of the rewind principle, which was a big jump in little warped in spots—its place of supremacy and
evolution. Making pleasure easier is the motive that leadership as the fundamental, basic instrument for
influences all the inventors in the music industry. musical advancement and education.
Note every improvement in music rolls and their
"And now we have solved the heretofore overlooked,
containers and you will admit the truth of the fore- or neglected, problem of establishing a plan of teach-
going assertion. A comparison of the materials in ing in classes of twelve to twenty students, at one
the rolls today and in the earlier rolls will also show time, this, too, with the assurance of even more rapid
that the thought of the inventor was the gaining progress the private lesson gives, and at most eco-
of more pleasure in the use of the rolls by the buyers. nomical cost per pupil. In fact, only one-twentieth
Improvise the Music.
of the cost of a full hour private lesson, thus bring-
But of course the improvement of the music in the ing piano playing directly within the reach of every-
rolls was a paramount thought with the makers. The one and encouraging universal nation-wide instruc-
earlier users of automatic instruments were easy to tion for children or for adults who aspire to learn.
"What the class lesson especially excels in, and how
satisfy in the matter of musical selections. There
it possesses many advantages over any other form of
was little thought of timeliness in the methods of
the roll makers, and dealers never got a calldown teaching, is seen in these facts:
because their stock of rolls was more than six weeks
"First, economy in cost of lessons; second, its in-
from the cutting machine. A popular song wasn'f
spiration to ambition through competitive spirit and
called an antique when it had been heard a few times
desire to excel; third, the combining of sight reading,
The instruments owe something to the improve- ear training, transposition, rhythm, composition and
ment in the music roll, but there's no denying that technic, body and hand positions, deportment, con-
the improved automatic instruments necessitated a centration of mind, plus actual practice on piano in
corresponding degree of improvement in the rolls. class room; fourth, social contact, environment and
The growth in importance of the automatic pianos benefit from cooperation and coordination; fifth, the
and orchestrions has, of course, been accompanied assurance of proper teaching under a certified and
by a corresponding increase in the calls for the rolls graduated teacher under the Curtis System of Normal
to suit the instruments. The regular issues of up-to- Training—a permanent feature of the Bush Con-
date music by a number of houses equipped for the servatory curricula of public school music; sixth, an
making of automatic music rolls, show a steadiness opportunity to secure a regular scholarship and credit
in the demands for that class of music. The marked for work accomplished the first year.
variety in the selections also shows a wide range of
"For piano dealers and manufacturers the great
taste in the owners of electric pianos and orchestrions. possibilities of the class piano lesson as a stimulus
Right in Front.
to sales cannot be over estimated, for sales will in-
The efforts of the automatic music roll makers crease in proportion to the development of this form
today is to practically keep in step with the com- of teaching, which, if made universal or national, as
posers and publishers as far as songs and popular we hope it will be through our private schools, paro-
pieces go, and also to provide music of the better chial and public schools, the demand for pianos will
type. It shows the responsibility attaching to the increase beyond our fondest hopes or wildest dreams."
position of manager of a roll-making department.
In concluding his address Mr. Bush introduced
Some of the users want the latest and others want Miss Helen Curtis, "originator of a class system of
the best, and between the music dealer and his cus- piano teaching which has attracted much notice, the
tomer, insistent on the latest and the best, the roll most successful and original teacher of class piano
manufacturer has a busy time thinking and acting.
lessons and normal preparatory work for teachers of
Possibly there is no clearer indication of the im- this form of instruction, whose outstanding ability
provement in the public taste in music than the enlisted me among tht hundreds and thousands of
higher character of the requirements for the music enthusiastic musical people who know what she has
for antomatic instruments. Automatic pianos and accomplished wherever she has undertaken this splen-
orchestrions are more truly the people's musical in- did work."
struments than anything else in the music dealer's
stock except pianos themselves. The roll orders of
the automatic instrument users expresses prevailing
taste in an unerring way. In recent years people
have been enabled to hear good music in a great
many ways; at the movie shows, on phonographs and
player-pianos, on bands and, more recently still, on
Wilder's Music Store in St. Cloud, Under Able
the radio. But the automatic pianos themselves have
Management of C. G. Kanavel.
been powerful in the encouragement of music.
Enlightening Fact.
Wilder's Music Store, Kissimmee, Florida, has
It used to be the rule that users of automatic pianos opened a branch at St. Cloud, in charge of C. G.
in the cafes, and other places of resort, in foreign Kanavel, and Mrs. Kanavel, who have lived there for
communities limited their purchases of rolls to the three years and have the confidence of the people
particular music of the nationality in greatest num- of the town.
bers there. You heard nothing but Polish music in
Gulbransen pianos, phonographs, small musical in-
a Polish neighborhood, German in a German neigh- struments and sheet music are handled. The store is
borhood, and so on. Today the patrons are more located on New York avenue, in the heart of the
universal in their musical desires. They are broader
business section of St. Cloud.
in their tastes, a fact that is clearly shown in the
As part of the opening feature, a program was
greater variety of the music ordered by the auto- given on the Gulbransen Registering Piano and there
matic piano owners in the so-called foreign sections were piano solos by Miss Ethel Owens and songs by
of the cities, and the country generally.
Mrs. C. G. Kanavel. W. E. Brown, representing the
Automatic pianos have improved musical tastes, Gulbransen Company, attended the inaugural of the
but the truth is that the older standard selections are new store.
January 8, 1927.
COINOLAS
FOR
RESTAURANTS, CAFES and
A M U S E M E N T CENTERS
Style C-2
FROM THE BIGGEST
ORCHESTRION
FLORIDA FIRM OPENS
NEW BRANCH STORE
Tiny Coinola
THE SMALLEST
KEYLESS
Manufactured by
The Operators Piano Co.
715-721 N. Kedzie Ave.
CHICAGO
Enhanced content © 2008-2009 and presented by MBSI - The Musical Box Society International (www.mbsi.org) and the International Arcade Museum (www.arcade-museum.com).
All Rights Reserved. Digitized from the archives of the MBSI with support from NAMM - The International Music Products Association (www.namm.org).
Additional enhancement, optimization, and distribution by the International Arcade Museum. An extensive collection of Presto can be found online at http://www.arcade-museum.com/library/
Future scanning projects are planned by the International Arcade Museum Library (IAML).