History of the Piano

Player Piano

Player pianos are regular pianos that have added mechanical equipment that allows the piano to play by itself. The internal mechanisms were originally a series of pneumatic gears that used a paper with perforations. Player pianos became popular in the late 19th to early 20th century as manufacturers figured out how to mass-produce instruments. The high point for player pianos was in 1924, after that sales dropped steadily as recording technology improved. Families gradually replaced their player pianos with phonographs then radios. The stock market crash of 1929 brought player piano production to its lowest point. Some older player pianos and newer modern versions are still around, although largely a novelty, they give us some insight into the works and playing styles of famous composers.

The first instrument with the basic ideas of self-playing was made in Philadelphia in 1876. Three different versions were made that between them had almost all the components used in the final version of a player piano. The sticking point was figuring out how to make the pneumatics work, probably because the materials at the time were not flexible enough to adequately regulate the airflow and be able to bend to fit within the piano’s structure. In 1896 Edwin S. Votey put all the components together in the Pianola, the first successful player piano.

The Pianola was part of a huge marketing campaign, which was advertised in full-page color ads, that cost $250 (the equivalent of almost $8,000 today). The instrument, which Votey called “piano players,” was a cabinet that stood in front of a regular piano and had a row of wooden “fingers” that were used to strike the piano’s keys. Inside the cabinet was a paper roll that moved over a bar that activated the pneumatic system releasing puffs of air that moved the wooden fingers that then struck the notes on the piano keyboard, playing a song.

Pianolas used 65 of the piano’s 88 notes. The songs were printed on paper rolls that were 11 1/4 inches wide and had 6 holes per inch. The cabinet also had levers and pedals that were used to control the tempo and volume and could be used to add dynamics and accents while the song was playing. If desired, a person could manipulate these pedals while the piano was playing giving the song their own interpretation. With some skill and practice, the player would be able to get a decent sounding song.

In 1897 Votey was hired by the Aeolian Company who took over the patents for the Pianola. Aeolian began producing the instruments, as well as self-playing organs. Aeolian also created numerous piano rolls. Each song needed its own roll and owners of the Pianolas would buy the songs they liked so they could have a variety of music. By 1903 Aeolian was producing 200 new rolls each month and eventually had a catalogue of over 9,000 songs featuring popular songs, light classical works, hymns, and very occasionally ragtime.

The player piano continued to develop with two new important ideas. First that all 88 keys on the piano should be used and second that the mechanisms should be internal, not in an external cabinet. By 1908, at a convention in Buffalo, New York, all the manufacturers agreed to an industry standard. The roll stayed at a width of 11 1/4 inches, but now there were 9 holes to the inch and all 88 notes could be used. By agreeing to these standard sizes and formats, owners could buy piano rolls made by any manufacturer to use on their player pianos. This avoided a “format war” which has plagued the entertainment industry many times (cylinder records versus disc records, 33 1/3 rpms versus 45 for LPs, VHS versus Beta).

Player pianos from this era were not completely automatic. They still had the levers that allowed a person to control tempo and dynamics, giving the “pianolist” the ability to create musical expression, even if they didn’t have the skill to play the entire piece on their own. Two further developments of the rolls were hand-played rolls, which allowed even more control by allowing interaction to create the desired musical phrasing, and word rolls, which included the lyrics to songs in the margins. Word rolls became very popular as a form of family entertainment. Before radio and other recordings were available, a family or group of friends could start a roll on the player piano and sing along to their favorite songs.

In Germany Edwin Welte developed a different version of the player piano called a Reproducing Piano. In these instruments, exact versions of performances were recorded, including the nuances of dynamics, tempo, and phrasing. When these rolls were played back, it was an exact reproduction of the performance. Welte’s version, called the Welte-Mignon, was introduced in 1904. Other firms began creating their own versions of the reproducing piano including Ampico and Aeolian. The reproducing pianos became more associated with classical music. Many composers recorded their works on reproducing piano including Claude Debussy, George Gershwin, and Sergei Rachmaninoff. When Igor Stravinsky moved to France in 1920, he made his living by creating transcriptions of most of his works for the Pleyel piano company for their player piano, the Pleyela. Later, Stravinsky recorded piano rolls for the Aeolian Company as well. Stravinsky wrote one piece specifically for player piano – Étude for Pianola in 1917. By utilizing a player piano, composers could write exactly what they wanted, often including spans of notes that were physically impossible to be played by human hands.

By the 1920s the two styles of player pianos had their own uses. Regular player pianos were used most often for popular songs, jazz, and dance music. Reproducing pianos were the focus of classical music. In America, most companies stopped creating new rolls of classical music and instead focused on word rolls which were the most popular.

Player pianos had their heyday in the early 20th century. By 1930 they became less common because wireless radios and phonographs had become more popular. These options were less expensive than a player piano. A bonus with radios is that they didn’t require the purchase of a new roll for each song.

New Applications for Player Pianos

Like with other older instruments, player pianos have a devoted group of admirers. Beginning in the 1950s groups started forming to collect and restore original instruments. By the 1960s some piano manufacturers began producing a few player pianos every year, including Aeolian with the Pianola. Groups can be found on the internet selling vintage instruments and piano rolls and offering solutions for repair and service to keep the instruments working. Another important aspect of preservation of player pianos is roll scanning. By digitizing piano rolls and then recreating new versions, these early songs, including performances by composers playing their own works, can be saved for study and enjoyment.

The reproducing piano has found new life with digital technologies. In 1982 Yamaha created a “Piano Player” which could capture performances and then replay them through the use of floppy disk storage. These were eventually replaced by the Disklavier which used CDs instead. Now player pianos feature MIDI interfaces to record and playback performances. Some companies even sell conversion kits which allows any piano to have recording and replaying capabilities. Steinway and Bösendorfer each offer pianos with playback and recording. QRS Music Technologies also offers kits to make any piano a player piano through modification with their conversation kit. Their technology is compatible with WiFi and can be controlled by a phone app or with an Amazon Alexa.

Although the player piano can seem a little bit like a novelty, it further developed music technology. It allowed wide varieties of music to be experienced by different people. The recordings made by prominent composers allow us to experience a performance by them decades after their deaths. While perhaps not the most important aspect of the history of the piano, the player piano has its own special place and role in the development of the instrument.

It is important to note that the modern version of player pianos mentioned above are not the same as a digital or electronic piano. Although digital and electronic pianos can record and reproduce, they use all electric components to create sound. To be a true player piano, the instrument must be an acoustic piano which uses strings and hammers to create sound.