Information on Piano Player Antique Scrolls

Early History

• Piano player scrolls date to the 19th century but did not become popular before the advent of the 65-note paper player roll. At this time, player pianos were not fully mechanized. Though the scroll indicated certain notes to be played, the instrument still required an operator to adjust tempo, rubato and phrasing. Foot pedals allowed these adjustments. Popular manufacturers at the time included Kimball and Connorized.

88-Note Scrolls

• By the turn of the century, scroll manufacturers also began to publish scrolls that used all 88 keys of a piano. During this time, player piano manufacturers began to perfect a fully automatic instrument that could replicate the rubato, dynamics and pedaling of the operator through "reproducing" rolls. Some 88-note scroll publishers immediately adopted this innovation. Others did not. Either way, these 88-key scrolls became significantly wider than their 6-inch predecessors, including rolls as wide as the 15 1/4-inch format. However, the 11 1/4-inch format became the standard by 1908.

Compositions for the Pianola

• Besides famous compositions for the player piano such as Beethoven's Ninth, several composers wrote or arranged music designed specifically for playback on the pianola. While compositions formerly were restricted by the limitations of the human hand, these scrolls allowed pianos to play any note at any time. Igor Stravinsky, Paul Hindemith, Darius Milhaud and Percy Grainger all composed work for player piano scrolls.

Player Piano Music Roll Artists

• During the heyday of the pianola, music roll publishers released the performances of many famous pianists. Using a special purpose-built recording piano, the instrument recorded not only notes but all of the dynamic variations provided by the musician. Some roll manufacturers achieved this by measuring the hammer and key velocity while others (in an early instance of post-production) used an engineer to code the master roll by ear.

Reproducing Scrolls vs. 88-Note Scrolls

• Reproducing scrolls (for fully automatic player pianos) are easy to distinguish from regular 88-note scrolls because the former has numerous perforations at the very edges of the roll. When these reproducing scrolls are played on regular 88-note player pianos, they make extraneous notes that are obviously not part of the original score.