Wow. I had no idea QRS is still around. My parents still have the old player piano we had as a kid. One of the rolls I loved as a kid was the Star Wars theme. Our player piano could be switched from 'conventional' to 'western' sound. The western sound was perfect for the "Cantina" section of the Star Wars roll. Also, did anyone notice that the 'wand boxes' in the first Harry Potter movie look suspiciously like piano roll boxes?

I recently acquired a player piano from pre 1920s. The engineering brains for the machine is just astounding. I learned that it runs on vacuum pressure rather than positive pneumatic pressure. Otherwise it would just blow the paper off the read bar. This way it sucks it towards it. Its really a piece of engineering brilliance.

@redfailhawk

3 жыл бұрын

I’m curious what you paid, if you are open to sharing such information.

@8546Ken

7 ай бұрын

You should see the engineering that went into a reproducing piano, where the loudness is varied by varying the level of the vacuum according to certain perforations in the roll. There are separate regulators for bass and treble divisions. There were several different brands with totally different systems for doing this.

@darfoz8807

6 ай бұрын

wow! it really is a testament to human ingenuity. given the tools and technologies they had at the time, it's remarkable that they were able to create something like that!

@darfoz8807

6 ай бұрын

@@8546Ken does the roll take into account how hard/long a key is pressed, the pedal, etc?

@8546Ken

6 ай бұрын

@@darfoz8807 The length of a note is controlled by the length of the slot in the paper. In common player pianos, the loudness of each note is not controlled by the roll. All notes play the same. The person playing the piano can control the expression or loudness by how hard they pump the pedals. Sometimes the roll has printed notations indicating how it should be played. But there is also a more expensive piano called a "reproducing piano", usually built as a grand piano. These had an electric air pump. These were much less common, and require special rolls. These have a separate set of holes to control the degree of vacuum, separately for the bass and treble. There were also separate holes to control the expression pedals. There were at least three companies building reproducing pianos - all incompatible with each other. Ampico, Duo-art, & Welte-Mignon Reproducing piano rolls were often recorded by well-known pianists using pianos that could record in real time. Many of these rolls have been transferred to MIDI files, so you can hear the music played almost exactly as it was played by the original artist 100 years ago. I actually restored one of these pianos 32 years ago.

oh my god. I worked a lot with DAW and digital piano roll. but never knew that it's a thing

Grandfather of MIDI

Actually, they are still using that Apple IIe to capture the roll/music info and to perforate the rolls; they could have made that video yesterday. They have too many titles (thousands) to make it worthwhile to transfer/translate the electronic roll data to something more modern. And the Apple IIe is very robust and this is well within its capabilities.

The most interesting section for me was at 0:45, where we see *one* method by which a pianist entered the actual notes to be reproduced. This is probably close to how the vast majority of "classic" rolls from ca. 1900 to 1930 were created.

@microsoftice6498

Жыл бұрын

But the question is, how do you define the intensity with which a note is played on a roll?

@kurtkaufman

Жыл бұрын

@@microsoftice6498 As I understand it, At the time of playback, a typical piano roll requires someone to "interpret", by means of hand controls. On certain more sophisticated systems, this is automatic (Duo-Art, Welte-Mignon), and is encoded in the roll. With the exception of Welte-Mignon, it's not clear if it was ever possible to directly "record" the original pianist's dynamics. With Duo-Art, a roll editor would add the dynamics later.

Holy shit that background music Sounds like it came out of Sonic the Hedgehog Do want

Interesting blend of modern an old technologies. And still a lot of work by hand.

Checked the description and that "Please rate 5 Stars" brings you back so much

Much of the narration during the assembly of the piano roll didn't sync with the actions being performed on the video.

@ozzietadziu

5 жыл бұрын

You'd think that the creators of the video would have noticed the same thing.

It amazes me that there are so many comments about the computers for this video. The reason for this is that most people today cannot understand or even fathom mechanical engineering or how precision pneumatic machinery operates. I've shown this to my engineering students and all the comments are about the old floppy discs and computers. They have little imagination today in the music or piano technology.

It is the centennial of the Duo-Art system which had twin 4 bit digital to analogue converters. Artists that made these recordings were awed, and wondered why we hadn't done this earlier. We would have digital recordings of Beethoven and Mozart!

The audio is waaaaaaay off from the video

How have i never heard of this, i thought pianos playing themselves was just horror movie trickery

@davidoppenheim3979

Жыл бұрын

The most fun 1920's Karaoke machines that like older computers, can "run/play" NEW software. Not obsolete devices. As modern as the music rolls that you play on them! So much fun and interactivity! Great exercise by using the original "player pedals" rather than just turning them on using aftermarket mini vacuum cleaners called suction boxes. Still noisy vacuum cleaners by another name! Boring music when simply played this way.

I think the way it's done today is that the keyboard or synthesizer is hooked up to the computer via MIDI cables and the files are recorded as MIDI files. The one who is making the file sends it off to the company to cut the paper.

I have no idea what series of uploads I've watched that lead me to this video. I've gone down the rabbit hole. . .

Yes, it is sad....And worse of all; they've gotten rid of some of their most popular rolls! Thank goodness there's other roll manufacturers out there.

@harrisonthecarguy3734

2 жыл бұрын

it's quite sad really, it's a forgotten art that not many people know about

@dogge929

2 жыл бұрын

What ornery companies exist still?

Qu elle belle mecanique !! Merci pour cette magnifique et tres interessante video

1:22 i dont which antique is cooler, the piano, or that sweet ass apple mac floppy floppy disc. lol

@sallielancaster5511

5 жыл бұрын

The piano by far is way cooler

@Musicalmane

3 жыл бұрын

@@sallielancaster5511 yeah but they both are cool

Westworld brought me here :)

But instead of the actual live player creating the digital data for the role... It's also possible to compile a piece by transcribing it on a computer notation software score on a computer. Then transcode the file to a MIDI file. Of which I have dozens. I wonder where I could find someone that has one of those machines that I could make actual analog rolls out of them? They're transcriptions of famous players stride piano solos from famous bands from the 1930s

@8546Ken

6 ай бұрын

Those rolls transcribed by the famous musicians were a special type of roll played on a special piano called a "reproducing piano" - usually a grand piano.

I was hoping they would have done the how it's made theme song in piano roll.

0:31 The first ever MIDIes! :):) (Sythesia 10.9 - synthesiathegame; See Music...)

interesting video

To: every one that says that this outdated it is not this was made in 2006/2005

@kaylera1 yes it is but is it a e, +, or 2?

what is the roll preferator softwate called

1:03 "Then they just perforate the carbon marks" - that sounds like a very elaborate process if done manually, or interesting if done by machine. Why don't we get to see it?

In all seriousness, an Apple ][ would work fine in most mechanical machines.

i want a player piano & an apple computer!

Dude did I see a floppy disc?

@theR1ddle

7 жыл бұрын

Dude you saw a whole Apple IIe running the whole punch works. I have no idea how they would find parts for a 30 year old computer should it break down.

@jacobzelmore6080

7 жыл бұрын

Michael Lee I just said the same thing lol

@wendygoerl9162

7 жыл бұрын

Back in the late 1980's, my sister worked in a knitting mill that tracked their baskets (of fabrics/garments) with punch cards.

@goldenretriever6440

7 жыл бұрын

Michael Lee Dude did I see an Apple 2

@Renville80

7 жыл бұрын

theR1ddle no kidding. We have two pieces of equipment at my work that are run off a frigging PDP-11! It recently malfunctioned and the machine techs had quite the time getting it back in running condition.

Pls someone write the name of the song at 0.27

They scrub corn starch on the paper?

What is that first piano roll song?

Check out ARTCRAFT Music Rolls online. They've been in Wiscasset, Maine, for over 50 years, and they still make dynamic music rolls using original cast iron perforators. The arrangements are hand punched and are far superior to computer generated piano rolls as well as most of the music rolls made in the past.

I wonder how the two sections of narration got mixed up (2:30 and 3:04). Was it aired like this?

0:49 I wonder what that plaque says.

I found a box of these in my attic in my childhood home.

POV: The printer is the piano... POV: Guttenberg plays the piano...

Love that they still use an apple ][

I have a Boston player and a trunk full of old rolls with no resources to restore it. all I need is a place and money

Oooo. Nice floppy disc. I wonder how long ago that was recorded....

We are number one

yeah i noticed that :) good video though

What kind of the paper did they use? Is it susceptible to tears or mold growth?

@OofusTwillip

Жыл бұрын

The modern paper they use now is more durable. Some old piano rolls used more acidic paper, which is now very brittle. Luckily, there are some people who scan piano rolls, and convert them to MIDI files. Thousands of rolls have been preserved this way, including many that are too fragile to play. I grew up with a 1914 Starck player-piano. Today, I have a 1915 Lexington player-piano. And about 200 antique and modern piano rolls. I recently bought some from QRS, and several antique ones on eBay.

@davidoppenheim3979

Жыл бұрын

@@OofusTwillip New QRS rolls are being made in Seneca, PA at their facility today. Up to date music such as Frozen, Titanic theme, Lady Gaga songs, Billy Joel tunes, Dolly Parton, Travis Tritt, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, and broadway and Christmas music ALL easily obtainable on used or new piano rolls that are fully interchangeable for all types of player pianos!

Does it encrypt pedal data too?

@organfairy

2 ай бұрын

There is no need to 'encrypt' the sustain pedal - they just hold down the keys as long as they want the sustain to last. The only reason you have a sustain pedal on a piano is so you can free up your fingers to play additional notes while you hold the already played ones. A player piano can hold more keys than a human have fingers.

whats the first song they played?

@rafriedman

Жыл бұрын

Di Grine Cuzine.

Does anybody know the beginning song?

@rafriedman

Жыл бұрын

Di Grine Cuzine.

kayangkono jbul sulite yo

It's amazing what an ancient machine like that is capable of when it doesn't have to support the huge overhead of a modern operating system.

@davidoppenheim3979

Жыл бұрын

Much more fun and interactive than boring electronic keyboards hand held devices with ear buds!

Correction 2008 if you look at the roll at the end

Great video - Does anybody recognize that the video and text they speak does not match after they cut the paper off and put the temporary tag on?

@mrb692

9 ай бұрын

I absolutely noticed that. I wonder how the audio got swapped?

Can anyone name the song at 00:27 for me?

@rafriedman

Жыл бұрын

Di Grine Cuzine.

I wonder what year did this video was made? Who still use floppy disk nowadays?

@tsltyler

9 жыл бұрын

Sam Akechi they still do to this day! Why change it if the method still works?

@Foxyjosh

8 жыл бұрын

+Sam Akechi I used to work at a company that has some very old and very high precision boring mills. To start the machine, we have to run a punch tape code through the machine's computer to get it to start up. (It's what was used before floppy disks) To retrofit to a modern computer would cost $25,000. So, until the machine quits working, they are not planing to upgrade.

@jayson8372

6 жыл бұрын

At our local university we still use an old IBM 386 computer running Windows 3.1 to control a CNC machine...data transfered via a 3.5" 'floppy' disk. Cost to replace proprietary computer (the card inside really) and software, multiple thousands of dollars, cost to buy USB floppy disk for modern computers, about $10 or $15 from eBay. You pick.

@vt2788

6 жыл бұрын

In North Korea maybe

@jacknedry3925

4 жыл бұрын

The US Military

What’s the tune at 0:25?

@rafriedman

Жыл бұрын

Di Grine Cuzine.

@jacknedry3925

9 ай бұрын

@@rafriedman, THANK YOU!

@kaylera1 Yeaa, is so up to date! That faktory wood newer get thru EU safty inspektion, the glu locks so helthy :P

I want the devils trill sonata made lol

The audio is even quieter than other HIM video's. Make sure to re-adjust your volume so you don't blast your speakers!

Is it just me or the voice of the speaker isn't synced with the video and is messed up?

@claudioalfano4381

4 ай бұрын

Yeah,the script got swapped probably

Scott Joplin's songs :DDD

@clariona -- You need to oil your player piano pedals on your You Tube postings. You have disabled comments on your site so I thought I would let you know here. Very distracting. Also, Artcraft does not have "perforators". They have a Leabarjan home perforator that produces one roll.

Nope - QRS never followed through on the shutdown and are still making rolls in Buffalo. They just did an order of 130 custom rolls for the Automatic Musical Instrument Collectors' Association Convention in Pittsburgh (July 2012)

@davidoppenheim3979

Жыл бұрын

Also Meliora and Artcraft music rolls still fully available offering great music rolls today!

do they still make these rolls? I mean, the pianola isn't that popular nowadays. it is so beautifully made though, so sophisticated

@iangillis1271

7 жыл бұрын

yes, they do. You can order them from QRS (still in business for over a century), or other small manufacturers

@ozzietadziu

5 жыл бұрын

QRS manufacturing is currently (10/15/2018) is now a one-man operation, soon to be discontinued.

@DrRonski

5 жыл бұрын

So, will we be able to order rolls from the inventory?

@ozzietadziu

5 жыл бұрын

Yes. Check out the QRS Music Technoogies website.

@DrRonski

5 жыл бұрын

Just talked to QRS and they said they are not going to be discontinuing manufacturing. Do you think they will just continue to sell inventory and not make any new rolls?

WOW! This must be old! Dig that 5.25 floppy!

ahhh its a ghost

I ran across this old digital computer patent 3190554 that computes using air. Think the player piano folks could have made this type of computer? Think and air computer could be made today using 3D printing?

@ufoengines

8 жыл бұрын

+IndisputableAttitude Sounds A-OK, Now if I can talk somebody into making a You Tube demonstrating Collision Based Computing using Brush Bots. Patent 672256.

@ufoengines

8 жыл бұрын

Hope soon somebody makes a You Tube using brush bots to demonstrate Collision Based Computing. Even better, maybe a swarm of drones!

with a f...n 5 1/4 disk!!! wow!!! old times!! :D

Pity the narrator got the word printing and the tab making descriptions the wrong way round

@karlellison5094

5 жыл бұрын

That would be the video's editor fault. Don't know what they're really looking at ....

I want to see how they made them in the old days

@8546Ken

6 ай бұрын

That was covered in the video, but not n detail.

Holy crap!! is that like an old Apple IIE??! talk about high tech!

I've seen self playing pianos before.

Piece at 1:07 Scott Joplin's Magnetic Rag

@SQUAREHEADSAM1912

2 жыл бұрын

His very last rag too.

HAHAHA a 5" floppy -- this is an OOOLD Vid!!

I know... how ironic, right?

That video was made in 2008. It was just that factory that used old computers.

@coondogtheman1234 hopless :/

They called that the "Modern method" but they used a floppy disk

wtfffffffffffffffffffffffffffff floppyyyy

Seriously? An Apple II? 5-1/4" floppy disks? Have I just been transported back to the '80s!?

@raccoon681

6 жыл бұрын

guess what is used for nukes in the us

@richardhall9815

6 жыл бұрын

Yeap, and for good reason. Don't have to worry about old computers not connected to the Internet being hacked into. Wouldn't want someone messing around and launching our nukes (though when I think of that the movie Wargames comes to mind...)

@allison88888888

4 жыл бұрын

yeah, so what?

a floppy?!!!!! It is older!!!! nowadays!!!

lol floppydisks

Everything is probably totally automated by now.

45,000 titles, which all sound the same.

@PuffyRainbowCloud

6 жыл бұрын

Why would they all sound the same? They're different pieces of music,

@TheDutyPaid

6 жыл бұрын

Sounds the same not the same work of music. Rap all sounds the same or you could call Dolly Parton a rap act.