Greetings:  With all the recent discussion of editorial style that has
been going on here at MMD, I thought it time I weighed in with an
observation, supported by anecdotal evidence.

Regular contributors to the Mechanical Music Digest may have noticed that
their postings have sometimes been altered very slightly by the time they
appear in the Digest.  Spelling errors may have been corrected, paragraph
line feeds inserted to improve reading flow, and the like.  A particular
editing characteristic that I have noted from our Relief Editor, Robbie
Rhodes, is his predilection for adding emphasis, such as "!", where none
may have existed in the original posting.  For those who have been
puzzled by this unusual editing technique, perhaps I can offer an
explanation.

You see, Rob bought a Weber Ampico grand piano when he was seventeen.
I always knew that it had been a tremendous influence on his own piano
playing, but I never guessed, until now, how it had also shaped him for
his role, later in life, as a text editor.

I was ten years old when this piano first arrived in our home.  Like most
unrestored Ampicos, the louds were too loud, and the softs were too soft.
Rob and brother John re-built the action - twice - in an effort to
improve this condition.  I am afraid that by the time the Ampico action
was finally working more in accordance with the manufacturers intentions,
the damage had already been done.

Sometime during the first year we had the piano, I recall getting up in
the middle of the night, and seeing Rob working at the kitchen table.
He had his X-Acto knife in his left hand, and was cutting holes into each
edge of a QRS roll.  I realize now, after so many years, that he was
actually cutting _three_ oblong holes at each edge, followed by a short
one an inch or so later.  Over and over, three longs and a short, the
length of the roll, almost at random, it seemed.

Rob was carving in the Ampico coding for "full intensity", followed by
"cancel".  I was too young to understand the long-term significance of
this, though it certainly was a shocking experience the first time his
customized roll of "Entry of the Gladiators" was played on the Ampico.
Wow!  Now _there_ was emphasis!  [Emphasis mine - D.R.]

I could go on, but I think you get the picture.  It's remarkable how
simple chiidhood experiences with expensive mechanical toys can alter a
person forever.  Please, please, those of you with reproducing pianos:
hide those X-Acto knives from your children!  Later in life, those blades
could be traded for a computer keyboard.

BTW, Robbie, keep up the good work!  [Emphasis definitely mine - D.R.]

Doug Rhodes