Mechanical Music Digest  Archives
You Are Not Logged In Login/Get New Account
Please Log In. Accounts are free!
Logged In users are granted additional features including a more current version of the Archives and a simplified process for submitting articles.
Home Archives Calendar Gallery Store Links Info

Spring Fundraising Drive In Progress. Please visit our home page to see this and other announcements: https://www.mmdigest.com     Thank you. --Jody

MMD > Archives > September 2005 > 2005.09.17 > 01Prev  Next


Favorite Music for Coin-Operated Pianos
By Stephen Kent Goodman

My own choice of music for coin-operated pianos is ragtime, early
Broadway show music (songs from the "Follies", "Passing Shows", et al),
early blues, marches and one-steps.

Due to the paper drives of WW1, most of the surviving rolls for
coin-ops are 1920s vintage, which I feel have been overplayed and are
actually representing the declining years of the industry.  Ragtime,
America's first original music, in fact, grew up with the coin piano
industry in this country.  I believe that the coin piano, orchestrion,
band organ, photoplayer, etc., helped to spread ragtime music's
popularity and prominence.

I would have to say I prefer the so-called "straight" arrangements of
Wurlitzer to the interpretive arrangements of, say, Automatic or Clark.
And everybody falls in love with Link arrangements (arranged by Ray Deo),
early Peerless (also arranged by a great concert band arranger, C. W. 
Wheeler), and of course the mighty O roll (arranged by P. M. Keast).

The best thing to do is listen to as many instruments as possible and
develop your own likes and dislikes, and try to get a copy of Reblitz's
master work, "Treasures of Mechanical Music", to read about the
arrangers and various music scales.  Have fun!

S.K. Goodman


(Message sent Sat 17 Sep 2005, 15:28:43 GMT, from time zone GMT-0700.)

Key Words in Subject:  Coin-Operated, Favorite, Music, Pianos

Home    Archives    Calendar    Gallery    Store    Links    Info   


Enter text below to search the MMD Website with Google



CONTACT FORM: Click HERE to write to the editor, or to post a message about Mechanical Musical Instruments to the MMD

Unless otherwise noted, all opinions are those of the individual authors and may not represent those of the editors. Compilation copyright 1995-2024 by Jody Kravitz.

Please read our Republication Policy before copying information from or creating links to this web site.

Click HERE to contact the webmaster regarding problems with the website.

Please support publication of the MMD by donating online

Please Support Publication of the MMD with your Generous Donation

Pay via PayPal

No PayPal account required

                                     
Translate This Page