Player Piano

A player piano is a piano that contains a mechanism that allows it to play itself. It does this by means of a suction driven mechanism in which a roll of paper with holes perforated into it passes over a tracker bar which reads the holes and activates a pouch and valve system which, in turn activates a small bellows called a penumatic. This pushes up on the back end of the piano key in a grand or pushes up the wippen of the upright piano action and the note is struck.

Read more on the player piano http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Player_piano. There were a few brands of player piano in the 1920's that used solenoids to strike the notes (Ex: Telectra, using a punched brass roll housed in a cassette). In the 1960's there were more companies that used solenoids to activate the notes (Wurlitzer console players). Since the late 1970's and the release of the Pianocorder system produced by Marantz, there have been several solenoid/computer based player systems. PianoDisk, QRS Pianomation, Disklavier, Bosendorffer SE (Stahnke Electronic) are examples of these systems.

The earliest mechanically played instruments were back in the Rennaissance period where organs, harpsichords and clavichords played from a planchette or barrel, these used pins to activate the notes. In the 1800's pianos operated by pinned barrels, or cobs or cylinders were built. Please see barrel piano.

• [double valve]
  • wood action
  • metal action
• [single valve]
  • wood action

• [etc]