How Did Player Pianos Work?

[fureverywhere]

I'm just curious. I have a beautiful old piece of framed sheet music. The copyright is 1919. On the back it has an extra song printed with the words " for your player piano or talking machine". No idea what a talking machine was. But how did they get a player piano to play music?

 

[jujube]

It has something to do with air passing through the holes in the roll of music that goes between rollers. Suction, I think. I'm too lazy right now to look it up.

"Talking machines" were early phonographs, I believe.

 

[NancyNGA]

He talks too fast, and peddles too fast, but... We had one in our house when I was a kid. Fun!

 

[fureverywhere]

So maybe there was a music roll to go with the sheet music? Interesting video, nice hat

 

[NancyNGA]

Yes, it required a paper roll. Some rolls had the words printed on the paper and some didn't. They were made from very thin fragile paper. I believe QRS Music still makes rolls and transcribes contemporary music.

 

[Warrigal]

Thinking in computer terms, the rolls were a form of punch card like the ones used with early mainframe computers.
The position of the holes determined which keys were struck by the player mechanism.

 

[Underock1]

Like Warri says, it was the same idea as used in music boxes. Our local hospital has one that plays in their main lobby. Very nice.

 

[nitelite]

I remember player pianos. My family did not have one but friends and relatives did. It was so much fun and easy. You loaded in a punctured paper music roll located in a square opening in the top of the piano and pumped the pedals on the bottom and watched the piano keys play music by themselves. The top was not fully open and visable as seen in the video Nancy posted.

 

[Pappy]

My friends grandmother had one and we would pump and play that piano until we were exhausted. Our favorite song was....You're a grand old Flag.

 

[Ken N Tx]

[h=1]Original 1919 Version Player Piano Roll[/h]

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[h=1]Player Piano Rolls - How its Made[/h].