The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-02-08
TALKING MACHINES Their Use in Connection With the Player-Piano.

the country and which are fast as | stunning a position in the matter of output equal to the pianos themselves. |
 In the aecompaniments of such
 beautiful art songs as those of Schu- bert, Franz, Brahms, Hugo, Wolf, | Richard Strauss and others, which l are composed with such exquisite at tention to detail and such an under l standing of the whole artistic effect. ! the player-piano is a very important factor in connection with the pro- duction of the records of these songs on the talking machine. For, as a matter of fact, the piano parts are as wonderful as the solo writing, and when one is enabled to hear clearly the instrumental settings still greater enjoyment of the records of these beautiful songs is possible.
 Now a great many people who have player-pianos also have fine talking machines. It has perhaps ometimes occurred to them that a combination of the two. if practical, would be is perfectly practical. The object of this article is to show how the trick
 may be done.
 In the beginning it should be clear g physiea imits % imposed r on are taking machine records by reason of the methods adopted in their manufac- ture. Up to date it has not been
 practical to make records, either disc I or CyIlIluGT, WIll ou- ration of more than four minutes or whereabouts. In consequence it is often necessary to omit a part of long song or of an instrum mental solo. The accompaniments. therefore, some times have to be altered in accord ance. Hence one cannot be sure, ex- cept in case of quite short songs or solos,, that a given accompaniment is available for the player-piano. One music roll manufacturer, | h hoc of arrangements from piano and orches- tral accompanimen used by one of the great talking machine companies. These accompanim ents include the piano parts to art-SongS and ariaS from grand opera, as sung by great
 artists. Some of the arrangements thus made are the accompaniments to Celeste Aida from verdfs
 Aida" sung by caruso;, to schu- Blass, and to Nevin's ''The Rosary" sung by Schumann-Heink. Others of like character have been arranged or are, in process of arrangement. There are also some accompanimentst to vio- lin and cello solos, arranged in the same manner.
 When one undertakes, then, by means of such a special roll, to give
 a player-piano accompaniment, cer- be fulfilled. The most important is the matter of pitch. Very few pia- nos are tuned at any fixed pitch, and the A by which bands and orchestras tune also varies considerably. AS a matter of course, therefore, ones first experience is usually that the pitch of the singers voice on the record does not agree with that of the play
 er-piano one is going to use. In or der to adjust these variations it is
 necessary to increase or decrease the
 number of revolutions made by the turn-table of the talking machine.
 This is done by turning the pointer of the speed-regulator on the speed-dial. The pitch rises when the speed is in-
 creased and falls when it is decreas- ed.
 When attempting to play an accom- paniment to the record, then, one must have the score of the song, mak- ing sure to get it in the right key, and strike the first few notes of the accompaniment with ones fingers on
 the keyboard, while at the same time
 the talking machine is started. Thus
 one can soon find out whether the piano is sharper or fatter than the voice of the record, and by turning
 the handle to right or left the speed regulator can be adjusted so as to bring the two into harmony. When
 the true pitch is thus obtained on the talking machine the number of revolutions required, as shown on the adjusted speed-regulator, should be | written on the seal of the record as a reminder.
 When this important matter has | been, adjusted the player-pianist can proceed with his accompanying, and very interesting work it will come to be. If one can read music little | the task can be rendered much easier. | read the score while the song is go- | ing on, noting here and there the pauses, phrasing or other points of interest. When one has done this two or three times the general plan ] of the work will be pretty clear in the roll and start to study that, using | ones copy of the score to keep track | of progress. When one has obtain
 ed in this way a clear view of the | record can be tried together.
 l Now, the first thing that strikes one when attempting an accompaniment | is that the voice of the singer seems l to come out of nothing, as it were,
 and one misses at first the intimate | feeling caused by having the actual | person near one. But as soon as | one has clearly gotten in mind the | way the singer phrases the song, one l finds that the player-piano accom-
 panyment follows in good order. Of | course, it must always be kept in mind that the music roll does not of itself furnish the phrasing of the ac- | compartment, and therefore the ac-
 
 has to phrase almost instinctively ! The work is most fascinating and | adds immensely to the beauty and | interest of both instruments.
 Perhaps the most interesting. thing | about the whole affair is that the ac- 1 compartment, standing out as it does | when titus rendered, enables one to judge much better and appreciate far
 more clearly the truly artistic nature 1 of fine song. When the player
 piano is used one gets the full bene- | fit of the whole composition and is | able to appreciate fully the complete | intention of the composer.
 For the purpose which we have | been discussing it is well to use the | best talking machine one can get. The | finest of all are the large hornless | machines, as in these the once annoy l ing scratchy sounds have almost en-
 tirely been eliminated, and the purity | of tone is wonderful.
 All the considerations herein sug- | gested apply as well to accompani- | ments for solo instruments as to songs. Such numbers as the Der | ceuse," from "Jocelyn," by Goddard, | arranged for cello solo, are very in l teresting, as well as the ''Ballade and Polonaise" of VieuXtemps for violin. Manufacturers of talking machines and music rolls have hitherto given
 slight attention to this very interest l ing field, but we feel sure that if a
 number of player-pianists, who are I,l- 1lv;x IL.