I just turned on CNN's Headline News, and there was that special report
which the two Gannett television stations broadcast on 3/3/97.  Usually,
the same 'human interest' breaks are repeated on CNN and Headline News
through the day, and often the next.  Those who are interested in close-
up shots of a #5 Leabarjan perforator at work, plus a view of the
Studio's #8-B Leabarjan in the background, should check out CNN and
Headline News today and tomorrow!

For a change, a tuned player piano is featured.  Again, Mark Lutton's
2-piano/8-hand transcription of The Chrysanthemum by Scott Joplin was
featured for the continuous musical background, and part of the actual
performance.  (This roll will be issued in Duo-Art form when released
later in Spring, having been delayed by the fire at the Play-Rite plant
in California.)

The spot has several messages in its compact 2-1/2 minutes running time:
a) Grand pianos had player actions;  b) Player pianos should be tuned,
and don't have to be presented as 'off-key' novelties;  c) Music rolls
are _arranged_, and hand-playing has nothing to do with the final
product;  d) An 'involved' human is needed for interpreting/monitoring
the music roll's performance, which is fined-tuned via levers, pedals
and sundry player action controls.

Let's hope this helps bury some of the mythology about the pneumatic
instruments and their paper rolls.  It's perforate-duplicate-interpret
-- a medium that's void of an alleged artist legacy.  Having the
individual participate in the music roll performance is what gives
the pedal player and the lever-controlled reproducing piano its lasting
appeal.

Regards, Douglas Henderson