The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1920-07-28

sei@ 60 n se EI
phonies, Here Comes the Bride.
and an occasional minuet made n.
the repertoire OF the church or con.
cert organist.
+ Now the theatre organ rolls ont
anything from Hawaiian love sonss
to Jazz 40 . means Of intensifvins
emotions portrayed by screen &c. 4
tions<A few effects called 10, ~
orchestra scores are practically Inn.
possible to obtain. Such an elPec,
IL the violin tremolo. But the skill.
ed organist managesIto master Il.
most any score set before hin
though It il said that three-fourths
OF the music he uses 10 written foP
piano and has to be arranged b.
the player for organ rendition.
Tone IL More Restful.
The organ is preferred to the
piano as an accompaniment for the
silent drama because it is capable
Of = much wider gamut Of tones
Then it is more easily subdued
into q harmonious accompaniment
to the picture, and the deep STEADY
tone is more restful than the shriil
babble of the piano heard in 90
many Of the small theatres.
Music for the movies Is IN i'm.
portant matter nowadays. We have
advanced beyond the stage where 1
callers ringing Of doorbell in the
picture had to be interpreted for the
audience by . real bell manipulated
by the\snare drummer.
Nor is it thought good taste any
longer to play facetiously few
bars from Good Night Ladies"
when the harsh father Of the hero.
inc orders the butler to remove the
poor, and therefore unworthy,
Romeo. Instead the up-to-date or
ganist shifts q few stops and irists
into something sweet and sad, and
your sympathy for the misused hero
remains intact.
Mostly, the musicians are pro-
vided with a regular program Of
! music suggested by the company
producing the feature. This shset
indicates that the Spring Song"
would be appropriate for the first
two minutes of the story. down to
the subtitle, Henry finds the skele-
ton key in the closet" when It 10
proper to change to The Cave Of
the Mountain King" and SO on
throughout the picture. The ex.
pert organist tackles anything, and
with results that must give Bach
and Handel q lot to talk about Il
they are still in touch with organ
affairs The organ in their time
was regarded reverently though Il
was far from being the formidable
giant that it is at present.
| Organists seem to take readily
to the newer aspects Of organ pay
ing. Theirs is a difficult instru-
ment to master-some say the most
| dificult-and the endless grind OF
practice in trying conditions is e.
tremely discouraging. But there Is
more incentive to an organ career
now than ever before.
/ Better Chances for Organists.
| ANY organist can tell you Of
the struggles he had when he was
studying. Few students have &C.
! cess to an organ in a private home.
| and so they have to 60 to q church
to practice in a hall often unheatd
or stuffy. 1t is an exacting appren-
!. ticeship, especially as orgauisti
claim they have always been worss
paid than any other class Of NM
sicians.
4 But now conditions are changing
A skilled organist has as good
|, chance Of rising in the fnancia
scale as a plumber or a carpenter
He joins the musicians union. coz
:. GLIDING that it is better to be q
|, affluent laborer than a starved snt
, struggling artist.
He may cling to his church posi-
J. ton, as sacred services offer a grea
j opportunity for originality and selt
playing. But on week days the or
ganist turns from pupils, an ofic'
desk, or any other pot boiling voce'
ton, and seeks out a Job In TIL
movies. Not all musicians VIII
pedal a big theatre organ driv'
their own airplanes, but the novi'
, industry has been kind to organistI
as we'll as to stars, scenario writeri
and photographers. 1t has PLACED
them in the class OF those engag
. ed in truly remunerative occupa
tons.