Evening star., 1941-03-04
Maestro OF Music
Al Meade Advocates
Bigger, Better Bands
Goldman Is Teaching
Boys of 29th How to
'Toot and Umpuw'
BY CARTER BROOKE JONES,
Star Staff Correspondent

Star Staff Correspondent.
FORT GEORGE G. MEADE, Md,
March 4.-Stokowski is O very high
brow musician and he may not seem
to have much in common with the
Army's hard-working tooters and
umpawers, who tootle and umpaw
from 5:45 am. until heaven knows
when, but he has some cogent ideas
about military bands, at that, take 1t
from Warrant Offlcer Meyer Gold
man, senior band leader of the Goth
Division.
Mr.. Goldman, who directs the
band of the 121st Engineers and is
a noted Washington dance maestro
in civil life, thinks the symphony
conductor had something when he
suggested that Army bands should
be larger and should go to the front,
in case of battle-or as near it as
may be reasonable.
Mr. Goldman is occupied, along
with his regular duties, with acting
as chief instructor Of a division
music school
"An Army band" he pointed out,
"could go to a bivouac near the
front, at least, instead of simply
dropping out of the picture in time
of battle and doing the menial tasks
prescribed, such as unloading trucks.
1t would do the boys good to hear
some stirring marches as they go
under f1re-pep them up a bit, per-
haps."
Need Plenty of Horns.
Army regulations restrict regi-
mental band to % pieces ard there
are no larger bands, ordinarily, un-
less bands of several regiments mass
for some special occasion Mr.. Gold
man pointed out the futility of try
ing to bring out the full effects of
such compositions as "The Star and
Stripes Forever" with a scrimpy as
sortment of instruments. Outdoors,
on the march, fortissimo passages
sound thin and squeaky unless you
nave plCIlly VI u uIllpCIS.
Maestro Stokowski said no army
band shiuld have less than So pieces
and Warrant Officer Goldman is in
clined to agree. though it's not for
him to say-he's in the Army now.
Look what the Army, Navy and
Marine Bands in Washington are
able to do, ne pointed out. OF ample
size and versatility, they can play
anything from a hot dance number
to a Bach fugue.
Stokowski also was reported to
have urged the rewriting of tradi-
tional military marches. But Mr..
Goldman defended this plan, too,
explaining that what Stokowski
wanted was to arrange the pieces for
larger bands and more effective
presentation, not TO spoil the tunes
generations of youthful feet have
tramped TO.
Mr.. Goldman, who has been play
ing in National Guard bands and
leading them since 1906, has his
troubles. He is supposed to.build up
the divisions regimental bands to
authorized numbers-some are at
half strength now-and to develop
new buglers and bandsmen. But
talent is not so easy to find, and
half the time when you discover a
fellow who has the lungs and the
control to WELD a tuba or who has
a passion for an E-f1at clarinet,
he's got a speciality rating or is on
SOME detail that keeps him out Of
the band.
Tells EN- How to Toot.
And, though Mr.. Goldman will
never tell you SO, having discipline
too deeply ingrained, he has to deal
with staff officers of whom some
don't know a sonota from an en-
chilada. And, after all, everything
must go through military channels,
even when dealing with the artistic
phases of the Army and the delicate
problems they pose.
Bandmaster Goldman, for ex-
ample, has in the 121st Engineers a
band of only 1910 below the maxi
mum allowed-and thus far he han't
been able to do anything about it,
despite the sympathetic interest of
his commanding off1cer, Col. John
w. Oehmann. There are just too
many technicians in the Engineers
and most of them haven't time for
music.
But Mr.. Goldman goes on giving
his best, and, at the division school
each morning between 730 and $50
am. he gives rookie musicians the
benefit of his musicianship, correct
ing their footing patiently and il
Illustrating difficult passages on a
blackboard.
There's talk of a big divisional
band, which probably would require
an act of Congress, or at least a
dispensation from the Secretary of
War, but Mr.. Goldman has heard
nothing about it-not officially any,
way.
The 18th Division was spread over
the brown fields and scrub pine hills
today, pursuing extended order drills
and other prescribed training, from
which they were driven indoors at
the week end by heavy snow. The
snow was nearly all melted, under
the moderate weather which has
prevailed since Sunday.
A platoon of the Mont Commits
stoned Officers' School practiced TAX
ing cover from straflng dive bomb
er-portrayed by plane of the l04th
Observation SnuaorOn.