ELECTRICAL PIANO.

Press, Volume LVII, Issue 17118, 13 April 1921, Page 4

ELECTRICAL PIANO.

1 QUESTION OF ATTENDANT'S. WAGES. The Court of A initiation, has given its decision 111 the casn i» which ail appeal was made agaimt tlfc decision of Mr S. E. MoCarthy, S.M.. lhat an attendant on an electrical piano player in u. moving picture theatre is not covered by the Christ-church Performing- Musicians' award. In the original case the Unit-ed Pictures', Ltd. (Mr A. Rowley, inajiager Strand Theatre, Christclnircb) was the defendant.' His Honour, Mr Justice Frazer delivered judgment u-s follows: — C.ausa ' fg) of the Chrfetchurcii Performing Musicians' Awird- provides that performers on .mechanical instruments shall receive 60 rper cent, of tho wages payable to musical. performers. Clause 1 (a) states thai the award shall apply to performers employed to play musical instruments, whe thet mechanical of otherwite, at specified entertainments. . The of the words and;."perform" is an indication that tho class. of instrument contemplated in the awajd required tho exercise of some degree of mitsieiairfy rfdll.. The electrical piano installed in the Strand Theatre is neither played ror performed on by the operator. In tho case of ah ordinary pianola, or playerpiano, the mechanism is operated -b# means of -pedals worked by tho performer, "and the time and expression are regulated bv stops or levers controlled by him. These contrivances require the operator's constant attention during- the whole time tho instrument is being played: It was doubtless an in-strument-of this kind' that'was in contemplation when tha award was made. Such an .iitfitrument, even if at not require "a high degree of musical skill on ths part of the operator, affords considerable scop© to a musician to display bis skill, a.iid merely relieves him of the manipulation of the keyheard. In the case of the electrical piano j under notice, the attendant requires no more ■ skill and knowledge than a._ person who-! puts a l-ecord into a gramophone, and eets the instrument running. 1 The insertion of the record is a simple process: a tujua indicator is moved over to th» figure maiked'oij ; the record, and the pressing of a switch : 6ets the mechanism in operation. Tho in- ; strument can then be left unattended Joe hoars. If , tho Court were to_hold that the terms of the award covered the attendant of such au instrument, it- would; ba difficult to hold that a person who .'put a'penny into the slot of an automatic musical-box was not covered also. The Court is -clearly of opiniju that* tins is a case not covered by the award, i-ud that ths Magistrate's de-.j cision wae souud. The appeal 'i3 accord-j iiigly dismissed. . . •>