The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1910-02-24
A new ARTIST
IN PANDEMON|UM
He is the Drummer Evolved by
the Moving Picture Show
Houses
AN EXPERT IN MAKING NOISES
He Plays on Three instruments at
Once-Wonders He Can Perform
with a Leather Pad and Two Slap
sticks-How He Tells a War Story


In the moving picture shows the or
chestra is apt to consist of not more
than two persons, a piano player and
a drummer, but by the aid of various
auxiliary contrivances 1t is able to
produce great variety of effects. For
the reason that the piano player has
all the time full occupation for both
hands on the piano keys these auxiii.
ary contrivances are all operated by
the one other member of the orches.
ira, the drummer
There are three instruments that
he can play on at once, n snare drum
with his hands and a bass drum and
cymbals with his feet, but Il Is with
the other contrivances that he pro.
duces the realism. He has a string
of sleigh bells hanging handy to jim.
gle when in moving picture scene
sleigh crosses the stage, bar of steel
to strike resonantly at the proper mo.
ment for the sound of bell, whis.
tie to blow. He may even supplement
these contrivances by the use of his
own voice on occasion.
He may use the drums for initiative
pucker" OF motorboat on the snare
drum, and with fidelity he reproduoes
the sound of steam exhausts.
You see In the picture showing on
the stage a railroad train rolling into
station. Passengers debark and get
aboard. The train starts and you see
the first white puff the first exhaust
shoot up from the engines stack as
the engineer gives her steam, and not
only do you see 1t but you hear II
too. and with sound so true that
for a moment you fancy it is the
real exhaust you hear. Then as the
train gathers headway and its move
ment quickens the noise of the ex-
hause comes quicker and quicker and
nearer together. till they blend final.
ly in the steady roar. diminishing and
growing fainter and fainter as the
train draws away, finally to be lost
in fading blur.
wonder, all this, in naturalistlc
sound production. II you happen to
sit near the drummer your wonder
grows as you see him, with his eyes
on the picture, producing the sound
OF those steam exhausts with drum
sticks on a drum. But wait till you
see and hear what he can do with a
leather pad and two slapsticks.
A war story. this next series, show
ing first a wooded country with a
stretch of clearing In front At the
near edge of the clearing soldier
comes into view, facing away from
you across the clearing toward the
woods and keeping moving toward
them. Before you know 1t another
soldier appears little further along
and then you see three or four or hall
dozen more of them scattered aloni
over the clearing "a skirmish line adj
vancing; and then pun OF SMOKE
from the woods and you hear the
crack Of a rifle and you see that hrst
man that came In keel over. the
skirmish line keeps on advancing and
then you see three or four puffs OF
smoke come from the woods and you
hear the rifles crack! crack! crack
crack! and then our fellows--we cal
'em our fellows because they started
In from In front from our side or the
stage-our fellows answer and yot
hear a dozen quick, scattering shols
Then a squad of cavalry comes II
on the gallop to back our fellows up
and they do mix things up In tha
clearing In great shape with rifles ant
pistols banging away all the time
crack, crack, crack, and crackle, crac
kle, crackle. 1t wasn't battle. there
weren't nearly enough engaged To-
that, but 1t was what the newspaper
refer to when in war time they prlh
despatch from such and such place
which starts off by saying: "Ther
was lively skirmish near this plac'
yesterday between -" and so on.
We had seen that skirmish iron
start to finish and we'd been nea
enough to 1t so that we could hea
every shot that was fired, and II you
eye had wandered for moment iron
the moving picture on the stage 10 th
spot where the rifle shots actuall
came from you would have seen IN
drummer of the orchestra. with nj
eyes fixed on the picture, spattini
spatting, spatting, spatting, with wv
slapstisks on a pad that looked IKE
leather chair cushion. A simple az
vice this. but by its aid what woui
otherwise have been only picture
dumb show, had been wrought up INT
scene that was thrilling.
Few Dentists In Greece.