The History of Player Pianos - Playing on its Own

The history of the player piano goes back to 1895. These unique instruments are designed to play music without a live player. Instead of a musician sitting at the keyboard, the player piano is manipulated by a mechanized device that compresses the keys, which allows for the playing of music.

There are numerous inventions and advancements that have made the player piano possible. Here’s a consideration of some of the major advancements that made this unique musical instrument a reality.

External Player Piano

The history of the player piano starts in 1895 in Detroit, Michigan. It was then that Edwin Votey constructed the first player piano in his home workshop. The major contribution by Votey was in the creation of the type of pneumatic system that became a part of all player pianos for decades to come.

His piano was a large wooden cabinet that was placed in front of a piano. There was a row of wooden fingers that had to be aligned properly with the piano keyboard. The artificial fingers acted like a live player’s fingers, creating the music.

This player piano featured a tracker bar, which was a reading tool powered by pneumatics. The bar read a piano roll that had perforations that corresponded to the notes on the keyboard. There was one perforation for each note. The fingers were told which notes to play by the specially perforated roll. Votey’s system, which was powered by suction, got its energy from two foot-peddles that a person could manipulate.

The Principal Worked

Votey had created a mechanical system for the player piano that would be used for generations to come. The system included the piano roll with the pneumatically driven playing mechanism. In 1987, the Aeolian Corporation bought the rights to Votey’s invention and distributed the player piano under the name Pianola.

The problem with this type of player piano was that it had to be put in front of an existing piano. It was cumbersome and if someone wanted to play the piano themselves, they would have to move the Pianola out of the way.

The Apollo

Just after the turn of the century, Melville Clark created a player piano that integrated the playing mechanism within the piano. He called it the Apollo. It made Votey’s push-up player piano much less desirable. In fact, Clark’s new piano was an instant hit and almost immediately various companies were distributing this new version of the self-playing piano.

The Reproducing Piano

In the history of the player piano, there is another type that is quite complex when it comes to performance. Known as the “reproducing piano” because it mimicked the dynamics, touch and pedaling of an actual pianist, these pianos also used rolls. The reproducing piano, which was able to capture the playing styles of individual pianists, featured rolls by most of the major players of the 20th century.

1930s through 1960s

When Wall Street crashed so did a lot of businesses and the player piano market all but dried up in the 1930s. There were a few manufacturers left but for the most part the player piano was becoming an artifact.

Renewed Interest

The history of the player piano saw a renewed interest in these devices in the 1960s. Although it was relatively short lived, developments included a newly designed Pianola from Aeolian. There was also an increase in the manufacturing of piano rolls.

But the computer and electric music age altered everything, including player pianos. Today things have changed so much in music that you can take piano lessons online and, likewise, today’s player pianos have also been transformed greatly by technology. These instruments no longer use piano rolls. Modern player pianos are still housed inside acoustic pianos, but the playing system is electronically driven.

Of course even if you do own a player piano, you can still take piano lessons and learn to play. If you do, you’ll have the best of both worlds—music when you’re inspired to play and music when you simply want to listen.

About the Author

Duane Shinn knows music. Called “the man who wrote the book,” he has created over 500 books, CDs and DVDs focusing on every aspect of playing the piano. With a BS & Masters Degree in Humanities (Music & English literature - a double major) from Southern Oregon University in Ashland, Oregon, Duane offers piano lessons to a wide range of students. He loves working with students and helping them to understand piano technique and how to apply it.

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