OCR Text |
Show SINGING FOR THE "RECORDS" Odd and Interesting ' Occupation In Which Men and Women Receive Good Compensation. How many of those who on a summer sum-mer evening listen idly to the music of the phonograph reeled off so easily and carelessly ever stop to think how these records were made or to wonder won-der what were the emotions of the musician who poured sweet sounds into inanimate ears, without any ol the inspiration of lights, flowers, beautiful beau-tiful clothes and an applauding audience? au-dience? Although it doesn't bring so much glory as singing at the Metropolitan Opera house, this business of singing sing-ing for records is a very lucrative one. Caruso is said to have made $150,000 a year in this humble fashion, and stars of lesser magnitude may count on $2,000 annually, which means much more than it would if gained behind footlights, because the phonograph does not demand that its entertainers keep up with the latest caprices of fashion. In the beginning, however, it is rather trying;. "Stage fright is nothing to the feeling feel-ing with which one confronts that awful aw-ful horn," testifies a young woman who is now singing for those slient audiences, according to the New York Tribune, "and afterward, when the record rec-ord is played and one hears every false note, every clearing of one's throat, even an audible swallow, it is a wonder any one ever had the courage cour-age to try again. Yet it is a wonderful experience, and one realizes as one never could otherwise how truly marvelous mar-velous is the talking machine, the phonograph. pho-nograph. "The room where we make our records rec-ords is an absolutely bare, barnlike place, with a board partition at one end, dividing the room proper from the small space where the recording instrument is placed. The horn into which one sings is suspended from the ceiling and protrudes through an opening in the partition. Grouped around it are the musicians of the orchestra, or-chestra, seated on elevated chairs, their music hung in front of them oh strings and weighted so as not to swing too much in any chance breeze.. The instruments themselves are the strangest looking things, the violins, instead of the regular body, a hollow tube affair, in which are arranged the strings. The cellos are skeleton in construction no siies and very slight wooden supports separating the top and bottom of the body. And to every instrument is attached an aluminum horn directed toward tbe large horn in the wall, to concentrate the soucJ wave. "The singer Is placed oil a little platform directly in front of the large receiver, then when all is in readiness he or she slips down out of the way of the 60und waves. A light gives the signal and the conductor, who is perched even higher than the musicians, musi-cians, starts the orchestra. At the side of the soloist is an assistant, who, when the orchestra begins, puts into the mouth of the horn a large extension, exten-sion, so as to catch more of the soiled, and when the introduction is finished quickly removes it. Then the soloist, rising ftnc". standing quite close to the horr. sings. It is rather distracting, fcr one hears one's voice become at once concentrated and more vibrant than usual, and one must reiiej'Jipr those dreadful little sounds which an audience would scarcely notice, but which the horn records relentlessly. "On finishing the verse cue steps down below th level of the horn. The assistant once more puts on the extension and keeps it in place until the second verse starts. This assistant assist-ant is a most useful persons for those new to making records, for he sways one first forward when one is using the middle' or low reg-ster, then back for the high note. . If tbe singer makes a mistake, ive, stops. If anything any-thing goes wron ivith tbe recording instrument a bell rings and all stop, to begin over again at a given signal. sig-nal. "After the song is finished the record rec-ord is played. One listens to see where it can be improved. Perhaps in places the orchestra is scratchy. If so, they rehearse the weak :;pots once or twice; then again 1hey take their positions, await the red starting signal sig-nal and try once more. "The wax disks on which the rec-ord.f rec-ord.f tre actually made are behind the partition, and nil about is a mass ol what at first looks like fuzz or Huff, but i in reality wax spun off by the needle. These wax imprints are sent to tho factory about four or five are made of each song where a metal impression im-pression is taken from them. From this pattern the hard block records are manufactured. |