Human nature is a moody thing—breaking out unexpectedly in unexpected ways, and in an evening’s program it is quite likely that special interest may center on an oboe solo or some other such musical hors d’oeuvre. There are times when one may respond quite vividly to a concertina.
This side of music is also taken care of in the Victor Catalogue. There is, we believe, not one instrument in general use anywhere in the Western world which may not be heard by means of the Victrola, in solos or in small combinations. There are cornet records, trombone, harp, mandolin, guitar, banjo, xylophone, chimes, balalaika, Hawaiian guitars, marimba, zither, cembalom and others, including even the street piano, affording solos in infinite variety and a few such records are highly acceptable additions to any collection.
It is on just such instruments as these that the composer depends for the introducing of special effects. The oboe is curiously suggestive of the East, as castanets are of Spain and the Latin Americas, and when one’s fancy happens to run in that direction such records may easily become sources of untold satisfaction.
All musical composition simmers down to a question of saying the same thing in as many different and interesting ways as possible, and something of this applies to the building up of an evening’s program. A record of Hawaiian guitars included in a program of better music is apt to be quite fascinating and serves to emphasize the tremendous versatility of the Victrola.
How to get the Best Results
Just as there are certain best conditions for all instruments and for the voice, so too there are certain best conditions for the Victrola, and the search for those best conditions will be a source of much pleasurable experimentation. The acoustic properties of no two rooms are exactly alike. They depend on the size and shape of the room, the height of the ceilings and the character of the furnishings, but the Victor system of changeable needles and tone modifying doors afford all the necessary latitude needed to produce the most satisfactory results in any home.
We would strongly recommend that you try all the varieties of Victor Tungs-tone Styli and steel needles with the modifying doors at certain chosen apertures and in the various available rooms until you find the combinations giving the most satisfying results.
In this connection it might be well to point out that a full tone Tungs-tone stylus or needle is particularly suited for a large music-room and that when the Victrola is to be used in a small room or even a room which is comparatively small, the soft tone Tungs-tone stylus or needle very frequently will give better results. It sometimes happens that a particularly good effect is secured by placing the Victrola in a room adjoining the one in which the listener sits, and using a full tone Tungs-tone stylus needle.
The operation of a Victrola is exceedingly simple, but the few prescribed rules should be followed literally until they become a fixed habit.