Listen to episode 142 of The Adelaide Show podcast, which was published on May 11, 2016, to find out which story is the fake.
MUSIC TO CURE BALDNESS
The Pioneer Sept 1908
Science in the form of music has now to come to the aid of .the bald. String music, including -the piano, we are told by an authority, is favourable to the growth of the hair, while wind instruments, especially the wood wind, are destructive to it.
“Look at Padercwski”, says the advocate of the remedy. “Hasn’t he some .hair? And what about lsaye and Kubeliv ? Go back to Paganini and Rubinstein and Liszt. Did you ever see a violinist or a piano virtuoso who hadn’t a fine head of hair? On the cither hand, look over any orchestra or brass band if you can catch it with its hats off. Did you ever see a flute player; or a cornetist or-a trombone operator who wasn’t either bald or nearly so?”
An attempt to explain the alleged difference is made, by assuming that-the powerful vibrations of the wind instruments drive the blood out of the scalp, while the strings, awaken a sympathetic quiver in the skin and hair which has an effect like vibratory massage !
Keyless PIANO
The News Sept 1951
According to a recent issue of “Etude” there are plenty of innovations in the way of musical instruments.
Whether they will be lasting improvements or not, remains to be seen. The National Association of Music Manufacturers, which held its convention in Melbourne recently, has certainly provided variety with a preview. An upright piano, without keys is said to be a neater design. The model, from the Gulbransen Company displays the keyboard as an extended smooth shelf, with no visible keys. Apart from the piano’s slightly “naked” look, there does not appear to be any serious disadvantage in the innovation. The secret to the missing keyboard is a special conductive sheet which can detect the players fingers upon its surface. The location of the keys is printed onto the sheet. One of Adelaide’s leading piano warehouse men agrees with a prophecy that a piano model with a case finished with white plastic fabric, instead of the traditional mahogany or walnut casing, and without the dust catching keys is almost sure to be universally accepted before long.
Played weird instrument
The News Nov 1954
A South Australian man last night won the second semi-final of the Swallow Parade, playing a musical vacuum cleaner. This puts him in the running for the first prize of £700 and a trip to England. A picture of this weird instrument and the story behind it is in this week’s Radio Call.