In the
heyday of the player piano, music roll manufacturers recorded the
performances of a number of famous pianists and issued rolls of their
work. Here are just a few names that spring to mind:- George Gershwin,
Thomas 'Fats' Waller, James P Johnson, Jelly Roll Morton, Vee Lawnhurst,
Frank Milne, Percy Grainger, Liberace, Eubie Blake, Scott Joplin,
Constance Mering, Harold Bauer, Phil Ohman, Frank
Banta, Ignace Paderewski, Pauline Alpert, Myra Hess, Rudolf Ganz,
Victor Arden and Alfred Cortot.
The pianist
would perform upon a purpose-built recording piano, the keys and pedals
of which were equipped with electrical contacts. The notes played
were registered by a series of marking pens on a master roll, which
was subsequently perforated by hand and any mistakes rectified. In
some instances, a high speed perforator was used in preference to
the marking apparatus.
Most
hand-played rolls were intended for use on the reproducing piano and
thus it was necessary throughout the recording session to accurately
determine all dynamic variations in the music. Some roll manufacturers
achieved this by measurement of hammer and key velocity, while others
relied upon the presence of an engineer, who interpreted this aspect
of the performance by ear and skilfully calculated appropriate dynamic
coding for the finished roll.
The majority
of music rolls for the pedal operated player piano however were based
on transcriptions from sheet music, rather than hand-played performances.
These are referred to variously as 'metronomic' or 'straight cut'
rolls. The musical arrangement was carefully marked out by a technician
on a paper stencil, from which a master was subsequently produced.
Tempo variations and musical phrasing, which add greatly to the realism
of any player piano performance, are often absent from this type of
roll, but may be achieved if desired by adroit use of the hand controls
and pedals.
A
small number of piano roll manufacturers exist in the world today,
the largest of which is QRS; a name that has been around for just
over a hundred years. In contrast though, the majority of current
roll producers are relatively new concerns, usually enthusiast-owned
and operating on low profit margins. New piano rolls fall into three
distinct categories, each of which is described below.
Recuts
of Original Rolls
Copies of many original rolls, particularly
those recorded by celebrity pianists of the player piano era, are
now in short supply. Furthermore, some were only ever produced in
small numbers. This is illustrated by the recent discovery by Karl
Ellison of the only known copy of 'The Pearls' by jazz pianist Jelly
Roll Morton. Karl, who is the proprietor of New England Music rolls,
has arranged for this highly desirable roll to be duplicated and as
a result, new copies are now obtainable for a very modest sum.
The
process of re-cutting a roll initially requires the source material
to be passed through a reading machine. Such devices tend to operate
upon the principle of either pneumatic or optical scanning, the output
being captured by a computer. The digital image of the roll may then
be visually checked against the original, to ensure that the perforation
pattern is accurate. This is particularly important if the original
roll is damaged or distorted in any way, and any errors detected may
be rectified on the computer screen.
A
perforator control file is then created from the computerised master
and any number of copies may be produced as required. It will be apparent
from the foregoing that most perforating machines in regular use today
are computer controlled.
Box
labels are easily reproduced, simply by photocopying the originals.
Alternatively, use of a computer scanner facilitates tidying of the
image if required, prior to printing.
New Hand-Played Rolls
Modern electronic pianos are invariably equipped
with MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface). This is also true
of certain acoustical instruments, an example being the well known
Disklavier by Yamaha. The MIDI interface facilitates connection of
the instrument to a computer, which, if equipped with a suitable
sequencer program provides the capability of recording, editing and
playback of a performance.
The
MIDI sequence must be carefully edited, if it is to become the source
material for a piano roll. Initially, any mistakes in the original
performance are corrected, using a musical score for comparison if
required. The performance may then be optimised for the player piano,
a highly delicate and skilled operation that may involve the adjustment
of individual note durations, timing, tempo and sustain pedal information.
A
perforator control file may then created, by conversion from the MIDI
file format, and the desired number of rolls perforated.
New
Arranged Rolls
It has already been mentioned that the majority
of original rolls were based on transcriptions from sheet music, rather
than hand-played performances. This method is still popular today,
although inevitably has become a computerised process in recent times.
The
use of a MIDI sequencer program allows each note to be entered individually,
along with timing and duration. In addition, tempo variations may
be incorporated, along with tracks for the control of sustain and
soft pedals, thus adding a greater degree of realism to the arrangement.
A
perforator control file may then created, by conversion from the MIDI
format, as described previously.
Of
course, not all of today's piano roll arrangers have succumbed to
the latest computer technology, instead preferring to create master
rolls by use of a hand operated perforator. Mike
Meddings and Douglas
Henderson are well known practitioners of this art. For production
purposes, the process is much the same as for the reproduction of
original rolls, described above, whereby a computerised perforator
file is created from the paper copy.
The
majority of new arranged rolls on the market today are absolutely
outstanding in musical terms, indicating that this remains a highly
effective method of roll production.
