El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-12-17

! tested in several cities and some great
developments in electrical music are
promised soon.
One inventor has been at work for
years upon a stringed instrument to
be played by electricity. The result
OF his completed efforts is an instru-
ent resembling a large violin which
is called a coracello. Its wire strings
are made to yibrate by means of cleo
trOmagnetic force. 1t was introduced
at a recent music teachers convention
in Boston and surprised everyone by
the wonderful purity of its tones and
their many variations. A piano key
board has recently been made with
keys that slant upwards. A number of
distinguished pianists have endorsed
it after careful tests. 1t has been
claimed for some time that an in
clined keyboard would involve less
strain upon the hands of the pianist
than the flat one now in use. Ger
man musician has been experimenting
for several years with keys which
slant downward but musicians who
have tested both, pronounce the Amer
lean invention more. practical and de-
sirable
Gramophone I'm Voice Culture.
Perhaps no more important use of
modern invention in musical develop
ment promises so much in real value
as the use Of the gramophone to rec
ord the human voice A distinguished
European teacher during the past
year has arranged a course of study IN
music from the gramophone after the
same method which has been found so
successful in teaching languages. While
it will be some time before this innova-
ton is likely to become generally
known. the gramophone is recognized
as having important educational value
in creating records which can be pre-
served for future use. With the voice
register of Melba, Patti, or Farrar in
! actual demonstration the music student
of the future will have excellent oppor-
tunities for comparison There is no
| doubt that in the years TO come the col
lection of gramophone records will be
! as important to the musical department
of the university or school as is the
| reference library to other departments.
| American Geniuses.
American musicians, after years OF
| dependency, are now rejoicing over the
| fact that the nation is beginning to rec
ognize that there have been, and are
i musical geniuses in this country. The
recent death of Mcdowell is largely re-
/, sponsible for this. Like most great
! geniuses, Mcdowell labored without re-
ward and died in poverty. 1t was not
until after his death that the Boston
! Symphony orchestra was willing to play
! his compositions. When LAMA was
| produced by them, however some two
years ago, the musical world went
\ wild over it and national pride was
stimulated that so great a composition
! should have been an American product
! Since then Mcdowell associations
! have sprung up all over the country
| His music is studied and appreciated
/ despite the fact that for 20 years OF
I his life he realized less than $500 fol-
! his compositions, which now have
! worldwide recognition as musical elias
| sizes. No publisher was willing to pro-
| duce LAMA unless Mcdowell himself
! advanced the first costs
/ During the past year there have been
7 numberless prizes offered in various
! parts of the country for compositions
! by American authors. Twenty-Five OPP