Have you ever thought of record collecting as a hobby? It is growing to be a very interesting and exciting pastime for scores of people. For, instance, many of the fine records of yesterday are no longer pressed. In fact, the master record from which the commercial record was made may have been destroyed. In second-hand stores and other places you can often come upon rare and interesting records at a reasonable price. Tracking down records can be a most exciting hobby because in collecting a certain type of record you may follow many interesting paths. There are stores which handle both old and new records, and there are many individuals who will exchange records with you in order to complete their own collection.

In addition to the thousands of music lovers who own some sort of record library for their own pleasure, there are many enthusiasts who make a hobby of collecting records in order to preserve these fragile reproductions of the art of an earlier day. Their collections supply an audible means of tracing the history and growth of various folk and racial arts. Think what it would mean, for example, if we had authentic recordings by some of the great old masters, or the music enjoyed by Washington.

The largest and oldest groups of collectors are those who collect vocal records of the opera stars of bygone days. Fortunately for us, these pre-electric disks of the first decade of this century arc almost unexcelled, since they favored the singer and reproduced the voices with crystal-like clarity and balance of tone.

The most-favored items arc found under such obsolete labels as Zonophone, Fonotipia, Gramophone, Phonotype, the early silver-label Columbias, Monarch, Delux, and so forth. Many of the most valuable records for the collector are of foreign manufacture. Among the artists collected (who vary according to one's own taste, of course) are: the de Reszkes, Melba, Patti, Lehmann, Albani, Tamagno, Martinelli, Tetrazzini, DeLuca, Caruso, and McCormack. Since a few of the recordings even date from the nineteenth century, it is obviously difficult to form a collection in these days unless one has patience and luck. However, some of the antiques recently have been reissued by the Historic Record Society and the International Record Collectors Club.

Symphonic and instrumental music, in general, was not so successfully recorded before the advent of electrical recording, about 1925, but there are many instrumental items of value and interest, including violin solos of famous musicians who have since passed on.

Some collectors specialize in music of various foreign countries, in musical systems such as the Oriental, or in music of the

American Indian

There are many authentic recordings of Indian music.

You will be interested to know that collectors of the 10-inch "hot jazz" and "blues" records need no longer apologize about their hobby, for this field has become recognized as indispensable in the study and understanding of an improvised art which is one of our few American contributions to music. This music, which evidently originated in New Orleans about the beginning of the twentieth century, was not recorded until 1916. The best of these records were buried in the long lists of " popular" music, though they were never popular and were dropped from the catalogues along with the trash after a year or two. Thus, even though not so old in actual years, they are as difficult to find as the rare opera disks of thirty years ago. If you look around in old record collections, you may come across some of these valuable items.

Even in this field of jazz, some people collect only certain types of music or the work of certain great soloists. For instance, one might prefer and collect the New Orleans classics of swing, 1916-1926, such as Original Dixieland Jazz Band, King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band, and New Orleans Rhythm Kings. Or one may take a fancy to the Chicago Style records, especially those led by the late Frank Teschamaker, the greatest of all clarinetists. And since her death in 1937, the 78 records of Bessie Smith, the best of the blues singers, are much sought after. Other collectors specialize in records by Louis Armstrong, who has contributed more than any other person to "hot jazz." Because his name is listed on only about half of the 200 or more records he made, collecting is difficult and interesting. Records by Bix Beider-becke, greatest of white cornetists, who died in 1931 at the height of his career, are also eagerly collected. Some people collect only piano records, such as those by Earl Hines and those of the Boogie-Woogie School, a style of Negro blues playing.

In this field, as in that of opera, many of the best performances which have stood the test of years are now being reissued by the Hot Record Society and the United Hot Clubs of America. You can no doubt make a good guess at which records now being produced by living artists will be most valuable in coming years. Why not start collecting them?

To begin collecting records, some of the guide books listed at the end of the chapter should be studied. Then with patience and diligence a search can be made in music stores which may still have a few old records in their basements, or in second-hand, Salvation Army, and furniture stores. Collectors in some cities have even made a house-to-house canvas of homes in Italian sections for opera records and in Negro sections for the blues recordings. Certainly collecting records is a fascinating way to trace the history of American jazz.

Some Interesting Things To Do

1. Make a class or family party and attend a broadcast.

2. Read the announcement of some future broadcast. Jot down questions you think will be answered in it. Listen and check off the ones taken up. Add any new ones.

3. Appoint a committee to act as "dramatic critics" of the currenr radio programs for the school paper. Discuss their criticisms.

4. If you live near a large city, look in the section of the daily paper for notes on the dramas being produced. Note how the critic tells his story and the facts he brings out. Adapt this to some radio program featuring plays and write your criticism of it. Discuss (1) type of play; (2) voices; (3) truth; (4) climax; etc.

5. Assign "reporters" to "cover" stated broadcasts over a certain period, say a week. Have them take detailed notes and discuss their findings in class.

6. Appoint "voice experts" to listen to broadcasts and give opinions on tone, pronunciation, enunciation, choice of vocabulary, etc. Hold a forum before the entire group to discuss whether each person "covered" is or is not a fine speaker.

7. Listen in on a musical broadcast. After it is over, do what the music stimulated you to do, such as draw a picture, create a dance, or the like. Keep your decision a secret and bring it to the class the next day. Then give a report on your reaction, or show the picture, do the dance, read the poem that you were inspired to create.

8. Hunt through the various radio programs until you find one that teaches you how to play an orchestra or band instrument via radio. Join in.

9. Listen to the Damrosch Music Hour. It's something you can't afford to miss.

10. If you are already a musician, why don't you play in the biggest orchestra in the world, The Home Symphony? No one but your family will ever know it!

11. Follow the music programs offered on your radio with one of the miniature scores suggested in this chapter.

12. Learn how to operate your own radio so that its performance will always be as good as possible.

13. Get chummy with a radio man and watch him install a radio. How much of the work could you do by yourself?

14. Experiment with a microphone, if you can find one, and do a bit of broadcasting in your own home.

15. If you are lucky enough to own a phonograph, how will you keep it in good condition from now on?

16. Make a record of your own voice or that of a friend.

17. Arrange a program for your friends and use your phonograph records to advantage.

18. Write an article explaining record collecting as a hobby. Have you decided what kind of records you would like to own? What are they? Where can you probably find more of them?

Helpful References

Abbot, W., Handbook of Broadcasting. Farnsworth, C. H., How to Study Music, Hayes and Gardner, Both Sides of the Microphone. Kinscella, H. G., Music on the Air. Korn, R. H., How to Organize the Amateur Band and Orchestra.

Wheeler and Dcucher, Joseph Haydn, the Merry Little Peasant. Wheeler and Dcucher, Mozart, the Wonder Boy.

Catalogues of phonograph companies.

A High School Chorus Broadcasting At The Worlds Fair

A HIGH-SCHOOL CHORUS BROADCASTING AT THE WORLDS FAIR.