Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1906-09-02

e11W delightfully."- naive topic Of
Tanned Music" The great bandmaster Ia
having fit over all the mechanical con-
trivances for the purveying OF melody
minus the year of study which up to bse
present swift mode OF life have been nee
essary:
The, wide love, for the musical art to be
from the singing school, secular or sacred;
from the village band, and from the study
OF those Instruments that are nearest the
guitars. mandolins and banjos among the
working classes OF America than In all the
rest OF the world, and the presence Of these
instruments in the homes has given EN-
ployment to enormous numbers OF teach
ers. who have patiently taught the chill
Throughout the various oommunities. The
foundations of this great structure Mr..
Sousa sees In danger Of undermining. He
continues
Right here is the menace in machine
made mlsicl The first rift in the lutte has
appeared. The cheaper OF these instru-
purchased as formerly, and ali because the
places.
"And what is the result1 The child be-
comes indifferent to practice, for when mu-
sic can be heard in the homes without the
labor OF study and close application, and
technic, it will be simply a question Of
time when the amateurs disappear entirely,
and with him host Of vocal and instru-
mental teachers. who Will be without field
Who can say that this special effect Of
mechanical music will be calamity7 I
can only think with Joy of the thousands
Of practice-hating, untalented children, who
have been freed from torment by the
pianola. The fathers can now come home.
don their carpet slippers and tramp on a
mile or two of sonatas and symphonies for
themselves. while the boys and girls get
their base balls and dolls and enjoy the
slice OF daylight that Is left after school.
The child who really loves music and longs
to make o little. won't be lured by any toy,
but probably slip into some quet corner and
listen. A good part of my early musical
education obtained on the stairs outside
of the home music room mot listening to
mechanical pieces thought. My view point
is that the machines will emancipate the
drones ana do no harm to the real lovers,
but simply be absorbed as educators.
Robert Hughes. critic, and writer upon
things musical. takes a sensible sane view
Of the subject The following squIbs
clipped from a recent article are full of
food for meditation;
music and published several volumes on
musical subjects, was recently made very
uncomfortable %SS comfortable by M M, Daniel Erohman;
given his time to theatrical affairs and mad
never learned to play an instrument or to
revealed an astonishing familiarity with
the works OF the great composers and
asked questions that kept the musician
busy inyenting excuses for forgetfulness.
Let me see." Mr.. Frohman would say,
how does that second theme go In the
third m0ysment OF seethOven's Fourth
Then. as the musician noundered, MT:
Frohman would recall Il, and hum It, and
discuss its similarity with some other inS
portAnt theme by some other master.
The secret was, that. while the musician
played for several years. and may never
man had been plsylng It over and over
every day for wseks-on his mechanical
plano player.
artists are willing to admit, The camera,
for Instance. derided BY painters and Dig
S SssS of @cp. ha o. DsoSa beSufn Ts
productions OF the masterpieces. These are
not. OF course, the old masters themselves.
than the OH copies formerly In vogue.
These were the work or tenth-rate paint
srs who had failed ns artists TIL, ana sAr ro.
crude In color. false in drawing, and utterly
empty Of the majestic spirit OF the orig
The mechanical piano player, Of which
there are now several varieties in the mar
ket was similarly met at nrst with the
contempt or the violent ridicule Of pedantiS
musicianA II was bold anarchist who
dared 10 say a good word for H. Mr.. Henry
n, Finck OF the New York Evening Post
who had had ysntSF.S e P's As w ss,s Of a a
the scholastic critics and even OF the cheap
est comic paragraphers. was perhaps the
FIRST writer OF position who was courageous
a
player and even TO confess to keeping one
in his house. Today the most eminent
pete for adjsotiYss Of praise and declare