The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1910-09-18
AN AUTO OR A PIANO, WHICH?
FORuIR LIkELI TO nv, NtI
I n.iNTFUTI RER.
The Piano business Hurt Wore IN the
N"i"r ear. zee says. Than Ia Nechani-
eat Muslr Makers Things Are NO~
Made Easter for the plano HuN err.

Made Easter far The Plano nu,rrS
piano makcr made ~ ,'lrar the other
Icy that the automobile j. real rival It
o., product. Tins Information was tho
.iIrrvma uf "a question respecting the
greater popularity 81 phonugrnphs m"
low proved kind ~ particular u IN" rural
districts IN village aud small towns.
>,lid m. dral.r.
The phonograph hasn't don" nearly
- much harm ~ thr piano h'l-tu"-~ a. ha-
fse automobile n I- t-i" ina. PLAIN
,utnrry folks 49, great ~tor" hy Cd phone
graph PR INSTANCE | spent ptrt ~ INV
vacation '.Shug stream mIl"rt from = town
100 % -orfinn whcrr tho nuil..'- we're widely
-rptratrd M'ulu radius Of ten miles
there weT" p'r, Hu- ten or dozen resi-
,"nis Fuur Ut mes. had pau,'- and four
ND phuuograpa-. aud hN all pdd- the
tatt-r carried N ~" hunurS BY invita-
Ton nsiRhbOrs II "aCu o.! IN" phonugraph
puartatte would drive miles 10 spend an
.veuing listening To- m" sort at varied
programme usually associated with the
Ihonograph in rural places Campers
along the lake were included in these in
vitations sometimes and usually they ac-
opted
4 found that the records in each case
vocal and Instrumental select .ons and
humorous racratIpne and J"~tS It the
vaudeville order
4 never heard II gathering of the
nelEhhnr~ - listen 10 piano playing
rhl~ Wa up % New YORK State. and in
some IT the Western rural communities
thA proportion vt pianos Ia photographs
H. lcs.- Nevertheless. this doesn't indi-
cate ds much Of "a slump m the piano
market a. might h' imagined. for the
reason that forty-ninr out Of tifty IL the
photograph owners wouldn't buy a piano
anyway Perhaps there Is no one IN their
family VINO can play "A piano nr who cares
To learn 10 play " matter Uf fact
the sale Of pianos in villages and small
towns II quite a. brisk now AZ IL ever was.
that - of the less expensive grades.
The phonograph has numbered the growth
- little, but not much.
With the automobile II is different
Here ~ "A manufacture which has hurt
the sale of higher priced pianos including
lf-piay"rs a good deal In many cases
I could name when buying an automo-
bile meant going without IA piano th"re
was 10 hesitation The piano had no
show at all This would not he 20 had !
wer. most folks satisfied to Use one auto. !
mobile for a long time In that case |
the piano mght sooner or later work in |
all right; but with new models coming |
TO the front all the time and the auto
appetite not reinC satisfied with a smaller
machine 50 long as a bigger and better
oar - in the market the piano has 10
work against long odds No. tho man or
woman of comparatively small means |
Who has IN" automohil" habit has few
a H. A
tions
Tn" high fuliers ~ Kansas and Iowa
for cxauplr Who ~ lato have been buy
ng automobiles rs II they cost sbou,
IS much - sewing machine. have moro .
~ their capital tied up ia this way than .
-Nme financiers think safe and the qu"s-
ton ~ baing looked INTO. II - certain .
that bur for the automobile piano makers .
would have bette chance than ever (
these days 70 make good money
As il il lever before were 80 many |
high priced pianos. m"anlug princi pallv /
lf-players made and sad az ~ the !
lsst coupl" Of years. Tn. general public |
does not know thus. or rather docs not .
know that m" popularity ~ the self
Diaying piano ha- gone mp by lCaps and .
rs1inds IN IA" tim" named
1T isn't too much t. say that could good .
seif- PLAYERS be manufactured a. A. Tow "A
figure ~ can he ordinary piano the output
vonld have 30 he quadrupled \ mrs,
class piano with elf-playInR attachment
oosts from S51Dup To 81 nrO without the .
-sf-plavsr a thoroughly good instrument
IAN b" bought for S2CO. IL goes with
ont saving that more persons can afford
tho latter than IN" former
Nevertheless 80 large IL the sale OF self
s1a - Nau NtF = Ia }
taIl piano 80 les room. " hich by the way. -
the largest IA the coun try thatI " ask ed
The other dav II the number 81 self PLAYERS
now manufactured did not oVsrtop the
regular varieties
Without being able to give exact sta
tIstics said no. that at present their per
"entage IL about three-eiRhths tn Ave
sIghths Almost every one wanting n
piano and who has the price includes a
~elf-playeT attachment. and few parsons
other than music teachers refuse to en-
thus- over IN. latest models. which with
Intelligent handling give results scarcely
dreamed Of when the first models were put
On tho market
+ must admit that never ~ the history
u the pianp business did retailers make ~
easier Tor n" publ 10 fO buy pianos Once
upon time only InstAllment houses. 50
rail"i mad" easy terms for customers
ash pavrH"u'- w"r" IA" mi" Twelve
months ,r"du IA ",Iua PAYMENTS was a
rrpif Iud'l E'up,. uFsrcd 60 ysrv r..Spnnsl-
Boo" p"r~uu- only Hard and fast rules u
found Sul not sell pianos to-day at
."a-f mot enough II them to make u nav !
ti'rU"- than ny q ~ per cent cash pay
neui and nearly three years IN which 10
.ettls the balance IA equal monthly pay
uJentG - offered Ia customers v hose refer
snc-- show that they arc IN the habit Ut /
fs,yIpg their bills W. taxi blg chances
sometimes
The adverse attitude Of MUSIC t.arners
~ natural enough Perhap- It - TN. that
self players ara menace 20 the develop |
iuent Of individual talent thai they nn
'ourag" lazn"s- ~ beginners. and ~ can
NOT b" denied that since self -playinx
uidups cam" INTO general u-. tn, demand
Tor piano lessons has fallen ~ trprnen-
dou-ly par iclIlaTly ~ the case ~ Young !
women % TieagT.' ability Tnmistakably
this - hard fOr the av"rlg" uIn of MUSIC
teachers.
s's.,rrncrlv. one teacher tod mo vnunr