Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-08-03
''Graharn

"A framing school Tor announCerS,
with courses in use of English, dictton,
languages, music and something Of the
technical side Of the business Is on the
cards unless future aspirants for jobs
before the naicrophone show more prom
ise.
Finding q man whose voice, manner
and cultural background are satisfac-
tory Is difhcult enough, but when you
add to that the fact that today's an
nouncers are responsible for several
very important switches In the course
Of most programs-an apparently sim
pie thing that seems to require of new
man every ounce of his level-headed-
neSS-and you have q combination OF
qualifications that can't be found on
every street corner.
In manner the aspiring announcer
| must steer 3 narrow course between
smart-alecklsms and superciliousness In
| order to arrive at an informally In
which he still keeps his dignity. II he
be highly cultured 1t must not show as
| an affeetation. He must be sure in his
pronunciation Of foreign names and
phrases. He must speak easily and color
fully, for many time, when he is on
a job away from the studios. he will
| find himself on the air, and the event
he is sent to cover at standstill.
A well trained announcer from any
good station will have most of these
qualifications. He has to have them to
keep his job. But when he gets on the
networks he finds himself confronted
black box all covered with switches,
buttons and coloGed lights. It Is the an
nouncer's control box, but sometimes 1t
| is called the announcer's delight and
i often his dilemma The switches shift
| the control from the studios to point
| outside. and back again, and cut In
| various studio microphones. The but
| tons control the groups of stations to
| which the program is to be sent.
It sometimes takes weeks for a new
man to learn to manipulate a de
| light" without error. and unless he is
| proof against nervousness the rest OF
his work Is likely to show the strain.
Even after several years of 1t errors
will creep in. Have you ever heard o
Squeal between parts Of q program
coming from two different cities? That
| Is because the announcer in the Sec
ond city does not always wait quite
! two seconds after the "cue" before
| throwing a certain switch. And IL the
announcer presses the wrong button he
not only sends his program to bunch
| of stations expecting an entirely diff
! ferent program, but keeps another
| group of stations, which should have
received it, hanging high and dry until
| the error is corrected.
Maybe a school isn't the best way
| out; perhaps 1t would be better just to
hire men to press the buttons, If we
run out Of good material for an
| nouncerS.
Have you q neighbor who runs his
loud speaker until late at night and
makes sleep an impossibility? A friend
of mine from up in Maine says he has
| solved the problem, and in his case 1t
| doesn't cost him anything.
Years ago he used to build his own
| sets, and whenever any new wrinkles
| in the line of circuits came along he
| slapped few pieces of this and that
| together and the result usually worked.
Don't ask me what he used, because,
while can tell condenser from q
coil, I'm not an expert on the innaras
/, of receiving sets.
| But, anyway, he remembered that up
| in his attic he had one of the old
| three-tube squealers, a regenerative set,
] which sent out an awful yowling all
| over the neighborhood when it was
being tuned.
My friend got out the old set and
rugged it UP with batteries and loud
speaker. The tubes still worked, SO he
set it to squealing In fact, he got Ii
| squealing on the most blood-curdling
| note of its range. Then he kicked a
| hole in the loud speaker and went to
| bed His neighbours receiver shrieked
| dreadfully for few minutes, but the
| neighbor finally gave up the job of
trying to get it cleared up and went
| to bed
Two more treatments Of the same
kind of medicine and apparently the
neighbor took the hint. Now he plays
his instrument as softly as flute.
Perhaps this treatment wouldn't work
| so well in every case, but there are
number of electrical appliances that
might be called in to give the hint to
inconsiderate neighbors. Fellows who
turn on their sets full blast are especial
| ~ obnoxious In the Summer, when
windows are open.
Getting volume nowadays isn't any
| trick, and, as matter of fact, quality
is improved If you don't use too muC:a
volume for the size Of the room. And
| for the rooms in most peoples homes
and apartments quality Is best when the
volume Is comparatively low. Never
| yet, by the way, have ] run into any
body In broadcasting- enter
| tainment or technical side-or a news
! paper radio critic who liked his radio
| loud. Perhaps some of our nuisances
would change their ways If they would
remember that they'd really hear the
music better with little less volume.
\
A good many people who have seen
Rudy Vallee in person have asked me II
he really conducts his orchestra, be-
cause he never seems to pay any at
tention to 1t.
Yes, he does conduct 1t, and vigor-
ously, too, but only In rehearsal. When
they are going over new numbers he
drills his men for hours at time, and
he doesn't quit until they can play q
certain piece of music time after time
without the slightest variation in
rhythm, and always with the effect he
has been seeking to create.
When his Connecticut Yankees are
broadcasting or playing at theater or
his night club Rudy seldom seems to
pay any attention to them, but let one
note 60 sour or the rhythm 60 OF the
slightest degree and he catches 1t i'm
mediately. A slight turn of his head In
the direction of the man who has gone
wrong u his reproof, and little move
ment Of the elbow sets the rhythm right
again.
Even when he Is singing or playing
the saxophone Rudy has perfect con-
troll of his men, for all OF them watch
his left elbow, If he is playing the saxo-
phone, or the fingers Of his left hand.
il he is singing.
That movement is so slight that only
one who Is watching for it is likely to
notice. 1t isn't really enough to be
called conducting, but 1t always does
the trick. There is no liking for the
spectacular In Rudy's makeup and he
prefers to let his work with the or
chestra speak for itself, without calling
attention to it In any way.