{"id":39517,"date":"2024-02-27T16:25:34","date_gmt":"2024-02-27T15:25:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/f22fa6de-fa6a-4996-bee9-c7940307ba05"},"modified":"2024-02-27T17:41:23","modified_gmt":"2024-02-27T16:41:23","slug":"pianola-what-is-it-and-how-does-it-differ-to-the-reproducing-piano","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/rss_feed\/pianola-what-is-it-and-how-does-it-differ-to-the-reproducing-piano\/","title":{"rendered":"Pianola: what is it and how does it differ to the ‘reproducing piano’"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>

By BBC Music Magazine\n <\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 27 February 2024 at 15:25 PM<\/p>

\n\n

What is a pianola?<\/h2>
\u2018Pianola\u2019 was the registered trade-name for the \u2018player pianos\u2019 made by the New York-based Aeolian Company. It became, albeit incorrectly, the generic term for any mechanically-operated piano that used piano rolls. From about 1900-1930 they were wildly popular.<\/p>
<\/div><\/figure><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Pianola types<\/h2><p>There are, basically, two distinct sorts of pianola. Both operate using the same principles: a paper roll, hand-punched with holes that correspond to the duration and pitch of the notes, unwinds by means of a machine powered by two foot treadles (or electricity). Air pressure supplied through bellows activates the hammers of the piano through the holes in the paper. There are \u2018piano players\u2019 or \u2018push-ups\u2019 \u2013 an independently-housed machine containing sets of pneumatically-controlled felt-covered levers that fit over the keys of any ordinary piano \u2013 and \u2018player pianos\u2019, where the mechanism is built into the piano. Interpretation of the music is entirely down to the \u2018pianolist\u2019.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How did pianolas differ to the \u2018reproducing piano\u2019?<\/h2><p>These are quite distinct from the \u2018reproducing piano\u2019 (another Aeolian copyright name) introduced in 1904. The rolls for these were \u2018recorded\u2019 on a specially equipped piano that could recognise all the expression, dynamics and tempos of a pianist\u2019s performance. The interpretation relied on the play-back mechanism of the reproducing piano. Unlike pianolas, they were extremely expensive to own. Some cost more than the price of an average house, which is why there wasn\u2019t much demand for music written for two reproducing pianos\u2026<\/p><div class=\"wp-block-group highlight-box is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container\"><ul><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/who-invented-the-piano\/\">When was the piano invented and by whom?<\/a><\/strong><\/li><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/who-invented-the-piano-recital\/\">Who invented the piano recital?<\/a><\/strong><\/li><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/who-invented-the-steinway-piano\/\">Who invented the Steinway piano?<\/a><\/strong><\/li><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/whats-the-difference-between-a-harpsichord-and-a-piano\/\">What\u2019s the difference between a harpsichord and a piano?<\/a><\/strong><\/li><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/greatest-piano-concertos-all-time\/\">The greatest piano concertos of all time<\/a><\/strong><\/li><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/four-hand-piano-when-did-the-fashion-for-piano-four-hands-start\/\">Four hand piano: how the fashion for piano four hands started and why it was popular for its romantic possibilities<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div> <\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By BBC Music Magazine Published: Tuesday, 27 February 2024 at 15:25 PM What is a pianola? \u2018Pianola\u2019 was the registered trade-name for the \u2018player pianos\u2019 made by the New York-based Aeolian Company. It became, albeit incorrectly, the generic term for any mechanically-operated piano that used piano rolls. From about 1900-1930 they were wildly popular. Pianola […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":39518,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"2"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/02\/pianola-what-is-it-and-how-does-it-differ-to-the-reproducing-piano.jpg",1890,1236,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/02\/pianola-what-is-it-and-how-does-it-differ-to-the-reproducing-piano-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/02\/pianola-what-is-it-and-how-does-it-differ-to-the-reproducing-piano-300x196.jpg",300,196,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/02\/pianola-what-is-it-and-how-does-it-differ-to-the-reproducing-piano-768x502.jpg",768,502,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/02\/pianola-what-is-it-and-how-does-it-differ-to-the-reproducing-piano-1024x670.jpg",800,523,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/02\/pianola-what-is-it-and-how-does-it-differ-to-the-reproducing-piano-1536x1004.jpg",1536,1004,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/02\/pianola-what-is-it-and-how-does-it-differ-to-the-reproducing-piano.jpg",1890,1236,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By BBC Music Magazine Published: Tuesday, 27 February 2024 at 15:25 PM What is a pianola? \u2018Pianola\u2019 was the registered trade-name for the \u2018player pianos\u2019 made by the New York-based Aeolian Company. It became, albeit incorrectly, the generic term for any mechanically-operated piano that used piano rolls. From about 1900-1930 they were wildly popular. Pianola…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/39517"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39518"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39517"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39517"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}