A player piano (also known as an autopiano) is a self-playing piano, containing a pneumatic or electro-mechanical mechanism that operates the piano action via pre-programmed music perforated paper, or in rare instances, metallic rolls. The rise of the player piano grew with the rise of the mass-produced piano for the home in the late 19 and early 20 century.{ see Harvey Roehl's "Player Piano Treasury" ) The improvement in phonograph recordings du...
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A player piano (also known as an autopiano) is a self-playing piano, containing a pneumatic or electro-mechanical mechanism that operates the piano action via pre-programmed music perforated paper, or in rare instances, metallic rolls. The rise of the player piano grew with the rise of the mass-produced piano for the home in the late 19 and early 20 century.{ see Harvey Roehl's "Player Piano Treasury" ) The improvement in phonograph recordings due to electical recording methods developed in the mid 1920's, and advent of electrical amplification in home music reproduction via the wireless in the same period helped cause their eventual decline in popularity, and the stock market crash of 1929 virtually wiped out production. ( The peak year of sales was 1924. )
The idea of automatic musical devices can be traced back many centuries. The idea of using pinned barrels to operate percussion mechanisms (such as striking bells in a clock) was perfected long before the invention of the piano....
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