I, too, have witnessed player pianos heading to the dumpsters.
A local player piano company closed several years ago and a number of
players were shoved into dumpsters.  I went to the place looking for
nickelodeon parts, which I did not find.  I wish I had a camera for the
scene!

Upon investigation, I could see that most the pianos that went into
the dumpsters were either in poor condition, missing parts, or had
expensive-to-restore player mechanisms.  I could see where such a
company, that had been in business for over 40 years, would build up
a group of such pianos.

Like everything, the player piano market is subject to the economic
laws of supply and demand.  For example, if supply stays the same,
and demand falls, the price falls.  In recent years the supply of
"self playing pianos" has gone up with the advent of solenoid operated
player pianos.  The marketing efforts of those building and selling
these pianos has been effective, especially for companies like Yamaha
with large advertising budgets.  The marketing is geared to increase
demand.  Nearly every music store that sells new pianos has one of
these instruments on display.  Such pianos are even being sold in
stores like Costco!

Also an offshoot, the digital keyboard electronic piano capable of
playing MIDI files is also very plentiful.  In a sense these are player
"pianos" too.  On the other hand, a very large number of players were
built in the early part of the 20th century, according to the book,
"Player Piano Treasury", and a very large number of them still exist.
Thus when you look at the market today, you come up with a large supply
of self playing pianos, new and old.  However, unlike new MIDI pianos
in recent years, there has not been a vast promotion of the roll-operated
pianos to stimulate demand and create a revival of interest.

Before the days of MIDI, there was a time when player piano interest
was first revived.  The initial revival of player piano interest, in my
opinion, started in the early 1960's.  It came from a number of sources
creating a dynamic synergy of interest.  A significant segment of the
musical culture of the time helped create new enthusiasts for vintage
music.  Also, you had many people who nostalgically remembered the
songs of the "good old days".

In a way, popular culture of the time helped celebrate the vintage
music style which could be showcased on the player piano.  For example,
during the revival you had hit songs on the radio like "Put Another
Nickel In", "The Old Piano Roll Blues", "When I'm Sixty-Four", "Say,
Has Anybody Seen my Sweet Gypsy Rose", "Roll Out Those Lazy Hazy Crazy
Days of Summer", etc.

At the theater you could see movies like "Hello Dolly", "The Great Race",
"Those Magnificent Men and Their Flying Machines", "Mame", "Cabaret" and
"Thoroughly Modern Millie".  Liberace showcased the piano in his shows.
The Lawrence Welk Show was weekly presenting the player-piano-like
talents of JoAnn Castle.  The traditional jazz bands were having a new
day in the sun, particularly in California.

Larry Givens wrote "Rebuilding the Player Piano".  Author Harvey Roehl
wrote the "Player Piano Treasury" and started Vestal Press, which sold
a large number of reprinted catalogs, recordings such as those of Paul
Eakins, and books, not to mention the "House Organ" periodical that
featured articles on the revival.  Durrell Armstrong came out with
catalogs of rebuilding supplies.  And Hathaway and Bowers opened their
doors to promote vintage mechanical music through instrument sales,
books, and recordings.

You could also experience the revival at locations from Svoboda's
Nickelodeon Tavern, to Shakey's Pizza Parlors, to Main Street Disneyland
where you could visit the large QRS roll shop.  Organizations like the
Automatic Musical Instrument Collectors' Association started up, and
older organizations such as MBSI got a shot in the arm by the influx of
people collecting pneumatic instruments.

In the early seventies, just as the cultural side started to wane,
it was revived with the movie "The Sting" which exposed a whole new
generation to ragtime music, and again interest was ginned up.  Dave
Bowers came out with the "Encyclopedia of Automatic Musical Instruments",
to be followed by Art Reblitz's great books.  And things floated along
for another fifteen years.

But then slowly the flywheel of revival of interest in the roll
operated player piano started to slow down.  Generations changed; the
new digital technology started to take hold of the market and captured
most of the younger enthusiasts who were familiar with terms such as
MIDI, RAM, and mini-discs.  During the later part of the period important
promoters of roll operated pianos, such as Dave Bowers and Harvey
Roehl, exited the stage.

As I mentioned earlier, there have been major manufacturer-inspired
promotions of new self-playing pianos using digital playback technology.
Because of this promotion, the new potential enthusiast is directed
toward modern technology.  On the other hand, there has been no new
major revival of interest in or promotion of roll-operated player pianos.
In an economic sense there has been no demand stimulus.  In a sense,
roll operated player pianos are back to where they were before the
beginning of the first revival of the early 1960's.

Unfortunately there has not been any cultural tie, such as movies like
"The Sting" which is now over 30 years old or new songs on the radio,
to kick start the interest.  Entertainers like JoAnn Castle no longer
have a national audience.  They are now playing to vastly diminished
and aging audiences in places like Branson, Missouri.  Books such as
Roehl's "Player Piano Treasury" and Givens' "Rebuilding the Player
Piano" are out of print.  Bowers' "Encyclopedia" is on the verge of
going out of print, and the Vestal Press is history.

Yes, there is the Internet.  _But_ in my opinion, the Internet has
a problem: simply put, if you don't already know about it, you won't
look for it.  Unlike wandering down Main Street into the QRS store at
Disneyland in the 'sixties, the Internet sites have to be searched for.
You don't just happen upon them.  Also, the Internet does not provide
the three-dimensional experience that you would have found at the QRS
player piano store at Disneyland or at Svoboda's Nickelodeon Tavern.

All this puts a greater burden on the established organizations that
were set up to preserve and promote mechanical music.  For the most
part, the societies were passively receiving members with interest
generated elsewhere by dealers such as Dave Bowers or the new
purchasers of items from the Vestal Press.  From the 'sixties to the
present, the AMICA and MBSI organizations matured, aged, and rode the
slowing flywheel, losing the initial spark of collector's excitement
as the influx of new members declined.  Both organizations have
experienced membership difficulties in recent years.

I have been a member of many organizations from, professional to
hobby interest.  All organizations go through a maturation process.
A mature organization has to be ever vigilant so as to not to fall into
a group of jealous cliques, political power games, or inflated egos.
The organizations have to remember that they were set up to celebrate
the items or profession around which the organization was formed.
They were not formed to be a platform for a person to work out their
psychological problems of insecurity, or the fact that they were never
recognized or were not successful in their job or profession.

My father once said, "If you want to ruin a hobby, join a club."
His comment was based on his fifty year experience with several antique
car clubs that devolved into bickering, over-stuffed egos, and annual
gatherings that resembled more a group of unhappy relatives than a
group of dedicated enthusiasts.

AMICA and MBSI have been very good for the mechanical music hobby.
A lot of hard work has gone into their success -- a look at their
publications proves this.  But like any mature organization, there are
problems in both that need to be worked out by their astute leaders and
members.  At this point in time, both have to take a more active role
in promoting mechanical music to the public.  They can no longer afford
to be passive recipients of members.

They also have to take up the slack left by Vestal Press which once
supplied needed books, recordings, and catalog reprints to enthusiasts.
Books such as "Encyclopedia of Automatic Musical Instruments" or
"Player Piano Treasury" should not go out of print because they are
foundational to the hobby.  Organized public displays and events such
as band organ rallies have been successful for both organizations.
MBSI is working on a new video for public television.

I am a member of both organizations.  I have been a member of MBSI for
30 years.  New members are needed and I encourage all of you to join
both.  Each has a legacy of published material that is invaluable to
the mechanical music enthusiast.  Each has annual meetings and chapters
with local meetings.  New members in such organizations add vitality
while increasing their knowledge.  New enthusiasts keep the spark of
interest fresh in the seasoned members.

Most importantly, MBSI and AMICA have to keep the fun in the hobby.
One of the most enjoyable instruments in mechanical music _is_ the
simple roll-operated foot-pumped player piano.  They need to be
celebrated!  Raised awareness will increase demand and will help
membership.  Roll-operated player pianos are an inexpensive open door
to the world of mechanical music.  The skills learned in rebuilding one
can be applied to more sophisticated instruments later.

I find it interesting that, after all the grand orchestrions, music
boxes, etc., Dave Bowers still has a simple and _fun_ foot-pumped player
piano.  Orchestrion expert Dave Ramey has one.  I have one and it has
a _Schultz_ mechanism!  We all have one because they are fun!

On the cultural side, I firmly believe that people will respond
positively to fun, happy well-arranged vintage music that the player
pianos play so well.  In fact people, especially kids, seem to be
starved for it.  The cute crowd in the media are arrogantly and
incorrectly on the wrong track by tying vintage music to a particular
generation.  They should take a hard look at the pitiful music they
profit from -- just look at the low ratings of the Grammy Awards.
It is interesting that some aging rockers and others have found recent
success with performing the "good old songs".

In an impromptu performance I recently played just two old songs from
the 'twenties on an old upright piano in a restored saloon in Columbia
City, California.  The enthusiastic young crowd in the saloon
immediately brought over a glass and filled it with money!  They really
liked it.  The old music played in the player piano style was a success.

Let's all start the next revival of the player piano and build the
demand.  Long live the roll operated player piano!

Tim Trager
Trager@idt.net