"A young persons view"

Many thanks to Troy Taylor & Bryan Cather for these articles (Feb '97)

Mechanical Music for the Masses

I have heard many comments and thoughts expressed by members of the older generations regarding the future of mechanical musical instruments if their appeal is not broadened to include more members of the younger generation, who appear to be largely disinterested. Historical or cultural apathy is frequently brought forth as an explanation, or sometimes it is thought that young people will not be accepting enough of the music that such devices play, having grown up with amplified-rock as the musical standard. I think that both of those answers, while logical, are for the most part incorrect, and I will take this opportunity to try an explain matters from my view as a member of the younger generation.

I am only 21 and have little first-hand experience rebuilding or restoring mechanical musical instruments. My parents bought an early Melville Clark player when I was about 6 and my dad spent the better part of 2 years bringing it back to life. We have been using it since, so I know about the pleasure and joy such an instrument can bring when played. I would say that members of the older generations are absolutely correct when they state that there is little interest amongst people of my generation in the great player pianos and nickelodeons of days gone by. This isregretful, and is cause for concern amongst those people interested in preserving these wonderful machines for generations to come. Following are my thoughts as to why this is so. Since most of the functional machines that exist today are housed in private collections that are not open to the general public, few people (especially those my age or younger) are ever exposed to these great instruments, and are wholly unaware that pianos that play themselves (and in the case of nickelodeons, numerous other instruments as well) were once made in great quantity. One cannot honestly be described as apathetic about something which they do not even realize exists. "This is the web page editors collection"

True, there are museums with displays, (and these must be given their due credit for helping out considerably) but those instruments are largely on DISPLAY only. For someone to truly appreciate the magnificence of the music they are capable of producing, one must be able to both see AND hear the music in all its glory.

I have been pumping my folk's player piano for friends my age for years, and I have yet to encounter anyone that discounted it on the basis of out-dated musical selections, and I have actually been successful in convincing them (often without much effort I might add) to sing along to tunes that only their grandparents would remember.

Not all, but many people my age today are more accepting of non-rock/rap music than they are given credit for, so in my opinion, the out-dated music explanation falls flat. I did not grow up hearing "Bell-Bottom Trousers" or "Little Bitty Tear" as the musical norm, and neither did anyone else my age, but we can still accept it as the quality music that it is. Young people that have grown up listening to amplified guitar music as the musical standard may not rush out and buy a collection of Scott Joplin rag CDs, but neither will they dismiss it as garbage simply because it does not conform to the amplified rock "standard". Most I know have actually commented the other way, noting instead how enjoyable it is to finally hear something that is different.

My playing of a few rolls for my friends has generated some interest amongst a few young people, and I would say that given a similar opportunity that interest could also be generated amongst many young people anywhere. This though leads to a major obstacle between young people and mechanical musical instruments today and that is simply money, or rather, the lack of it. I believe I have all of the interest and dedication necessary to operate and maintain a player piano/orchestrion/nickelodeon, and the willingness to research out the necessary information needed to take good care of it, but it will be quite some time before I have the budget to purchase one of those items.

In the selling market of these instruments, as with all commodities, it makes good business sense to get all you can for an item you are selling, and I am not attempting to disparage anyone for doing this, but a natural function of this business behavior, especially amongst valuable antiques, is that you price all but the affluent out of the market. Naturally people are only going to dedicate their time and efforts to a hobby that they can afford to participate in, and this largely leaves young people out of the mechanical music market.

Yes, one can buy a player piano in need of restoration for comparatively little money, but then one must either dedicate considerable time and effort to restoring it themselves, (something which few people of any generation have the time or skills to do) or pay top-dollar to hire someone with the expertise to do it for you. Player piano rebuilding is a very skilled art, and one which is unquestionably worthy of its price, but that price is almost always more than young people have to spend on an item which can be described for all intents and purposes as a non-necessity luxury.

Nelson -Wiggen coin operated piano Style 8 .

As to nickelodeons and orchestrions, debates I have heard over whether a given model is valued at $7000 or $9000 or $12000 are meaningless to those of us for which such a large sum is an impossible figure. I would hope that those of you out there currently in possession of these wonderful instruments will make the necessary arrangements to insure that your instruments will be passed down to those people of my generation that will appreciate and maintain them for the next generation, rather than allow them to fall into disrepair from being pushed into storage by someone with no interest in their up-keep. As well-made as they are, it is no secret that with proper care and maintenance these instruments will still be going strong when most of the products of today are landfill.

I don't know the solution to the problem, but as a young person today hearing those concerns from people in the older generations I thought I'd put my two-cents worth, and hopefully get the word out that there is still hope for the future of these instruments, if only people will take the time to share them with those people that might just be inspired to help preserve them.

Troy Taylor

e-mail : ttaylor@vtllink.com

"Player Pianos and the "Younger Generation"

Troy Taylor's comments concerning player pianos and the younger generation struck a chord with me. I am 30 years old and am often amazed at how many people of my generation not only have never heard a player piano, but never even knew they existed.

I do volunteer work at our local historical museum, which has a player piano. Most of the third-graders in our school district come through the museum, and I always play a roll for them. The look on their faces begins with a sort of detached curiosity as I talk about the player and show them a roll. However, as the first few notes play, a look of awe and wonder flashes over them. They grin from ear to ear, focusing their entire attention to the instrument, something they rarely do while touring the other exhibits. Many of their teachers have them write us thank-you notes, and they seldom fail to mention the piano as one of their favorites.

I try to play the piano for all our visitors. Many of the adults over 40 or so make comments like "You know, when I was a kid my great aunt Edna had one of these; we used to pump like crazy to make it play." When the generation encompassing their parents hear me "interpreting" an 88-note roll, they often remark that they never knew you could do that, and that it sounds so nice.

But it is those of us under 40 or so who concern me most. I have talked to many of them who have no idea that there ever WAS (or is) such a thing as a player piano. For them, it is completely foreign (regardless of what music it plays). For the most part, too, they are fascinated by these instruments when they hear one for the first time. There is a terrible public misconception that player piano are loud, tinny noisemakers -- something we all know is not true. I'd venture to say that most people don't think of player pianos as serious musical instruments.

If our precious hobby is to continue _after_ the present generation of player owners and restorers, we need to take a serious look at getting these instruments into the public mind-set as being capable of artistic performances. Historical museums many times have a player in the collection. Also, in my area there are a lot of antique malls with tea rooms. For years, one of the antique malls here had a completely restored pumper near the tea room, but nobody in the mall had rolls, so it sat there, silent, until it finally was sold. I kick myself for not arranging to provide music on Saturday afternoons.

On vacation a few years ago I found a restaurant in Colorado with a perfectly functional player in the dining room, and one roll. The roll was a fairly new one, but the piano sat idle because the tab had torn off and nobody had tried to fix it. I can see why: with only one roll to play, I'm sure everyone was sick of it.

There are opportunities out there to generate public interest in players, but we have to be alert to them. Otherwise we are to die on the vine. The artists who recorded their generation's hopes and dreams into their music rolls deserve not to be forgotten. As collectors we have the awesome responsibility to keep their memory alive.

Bryan Cather

e-mail: BSNAKEC@aol.com

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