New “Light Piano” Using Photo Electric Cells Creates All Musical Sounds

ONE of the most amazing musical instruments ever known has been recently invented by Prof. Arthur C. Hardy of the department of physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The device looks like a grand piano with a three octave keyboard, and it is not much larger than an ordinary card table. It is described by its inventor as: “an instrument in which beams of light and a photo electric cell have been utilized to produce entirely new musical sounds by optical means.”
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FREAK Musical STUNTS Make Fun and PROFITS

FOR parties, picnics, and all such gatherings where entertainment is the outstanding feature, there’s nothing that furnishes quite so much amusement as a freak musical rendition. And if you’re the person who can keep the crowd amused you’ll be the hero of the day.

A number of simple tricks in music which you can master with a little practice have been devised by Dr. C. C. Wiedemann, a prof at the University of Nebraska. Not only can you liven up a party with these stunts, but, if you’re good enough, you can earn a few extra shekels to help balance the family budget.
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Leader Twirls Dials To Conduct Band

INSTEAD of waving a baton, Buddy Wagner, New York dance-band leader, twirls dials and levers on a control panel to mix the tones and adjust the volume of each section of his novel electrified orchestra. Crystal pick-ups are attached to each instrument, and the music produced is amplified and then wired to three loudspeakers set in front of the electric swing band, as seen in the photograph above.

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Boom in Bands PUTS AMERICA IN MARCH TIME

TWENTY THOUSAND American communities support school bands which are trained by experts and stimulated by colorful national tournaments. This amazing new movement, transforming the old “town band” into a crack musical organization, is described by Mr. May, who recently told of the similar boom in drum and bugle corps

By Earl Chapin May

FOR three hot hours of a June Saturday, an excited multitude in Drake Stadium, Des Moines, Iowa, watched bands from Massachusetts, Colorado, Michigan, Ohio, and Iowa contend for prizes in marching. The spectators cheered like football fans when the marchers joined 5,000 other boys and girls and closed the Eighth Annual National High-School Band Contest by a thrilling rendition of Sousa’s Stars and Stripes Forever.
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MINIATURE PHONOGRAPH

From Switzerland comes the Thorens record player that folds away into a 2″ by 5″ by 11″ camera-model carrying case weighing a little over 5 lb. In tone and volume it is said to be comparable to full-sized acoustic phonographs. One winding of the motor is needed for each side of a 10″ or 12″ record. Rexon Inc., of New York, distributes the phonograph in the United States. Under $30.

Phonograph-Movie Machine Plays Tunes for Pictures

A COMBINATION phonograph, and motion-picture projector that plays appropriate music as the film is being shown has been invented by A. L. Edminson, of Los Angeles, Calif. After eight years of experiment he has combined the two machines into a cabinet slightly larger than that of the standard phonograph. The upper part contains the phonograph; the lower a motion-picture projector.

The films are exhibited on a silk screen, measuring 18 by 22 inches, which is placed behind the doors of the sounding-box. It is claimed that the pictures are projected clearly enough to be seen by an audience 40 feet away.
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Silent Violin Makes Its Debut
THE noiseless violin, which can be heard only by the person playing it, is the result of experiments by a German inventor. The instrument should be a boon to student musicians, who may now practice at any time without disturbing the neighbors.

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Blazing NEW TRAILS for Music

MUSIC is an art, the making of instruments a science. That may explain, in some measure, how Laurens Hammond has been able to invent the electric organ and the Novachord, even though he cannot play a piano.

By inclination and training, the unmusical Mr. Hammond is an inventor. On his desk is a large binder full of patents that have been issued to him. The first one, dated 1912, is for a barometer he developed when he was but sixteen years old. His earlier efforts were in connection with Diesel engines, three dimensional pictures, and novel stage-lighting effects, but the turning point in his career was his synchronous motor. He used it as the heart of the first electric clocks he made in a small room over a store building in Evanston, Ill., and almost overnight there was a national clamor for them. The shop mushroomed into a large plant. Read the rest of this entry »

I think I’ll pass.

Be the “Tom Brown” of Your Town

You may have the talent to develop into a Saxophone wizard like Tom Brown, of the famous Tom Brown’s Clown Band, the highest priced musical act, and enjoy this most pleasant of vocations. Buescher Instruments have helped make famous Tom Brown, Paul Whiteman, Joseph C. Smith, Clyde C. Doerr, Bennie Krueger, Dan Russo, Paul Specht, Carl Fenton, Ross Gorman, Arnold Johnson, Nathan Glantz and thousands of others. $500 to $1,000 weekly for but two hours a day is not uncommon for musicians of such ability to earn.
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Englishman Invents Portable Player Piano Powered by Hand Pedals

VACATIONISTS have never wanted for musical entertainment on their sojourns in out of the way places, for manufacturers have been quick to meet the demand with portable radios, phonographs, and the like. And now, along comes an English inventor, W. R. Wearham, and rigs up a portable player piano which can be folded up in two sections and carried in a harp-shaped case.

The chief feature of this piano is that the foot pedal which supplies the motive power is supplanted by a hand pedal, the pneumatic action operating directly on the keyboard, as shown in the photo at the left. The piano has as fine a tone quality as any other player piano and weighs less than most portable radio sets.

MEGAPHONE AMPLIFIES HARMONICA MUSIC

THE volume of a harmonica can be increased for playing in public, especially in large auditoriums or outdoors, by amplifying the sound with a medium-sized megaphone.

A slot is cut in the megaphone about 3 in. from the mouthpiece, and oyer this is riveted a metal holder made as illustrated below with two lips to grip the harmonica, which is of the “marine band” type.
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PHOTO AND MESSAGE ON PHONOGRAPH POST CARD

Here is a new way to send a greeting to a friend. Phonograph records on post cards have been made before, but now a German inventor has combined the record with a real photograph. The sender has his picture taken, records his voice on top of it, and the result is a personal record ready for the mail. A long message is recorded on several post cards, each one numbered.