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Duo-Art Roll "Negro Heaven"
By Craig Brougher

I don't know what else to tell Spencer about the roll, except that it is
very Gershwin-esque, with a little Copeland thrown in.  It uses the
modern chord structures and progressions, and sounds as though it was
hoped to be a concerto with orchestra, since it is a piano orchestration.

I have that roll and use it as a test roll on Duo-Art pianos.  It has
handfuls of light, staccato chords that very few Duo-Arts can even
play, if they are zero-adjusted and fine-tuned for the majority of rolls.
I once wondered if the roll needed to be "bumped up" a little since it
was so marginal in those places, but decided instead, about twenty years
or so ago, to see if I couldn't restore every Duo-Art to play it,
instead, _after_ I had adjusted the expression.

I think I can say that few factory Duo-Arts would be able to do it at
what is generally minimum zero, until the zero intensity is raised a
little more -- just for that roll.  They will play just fine when you
detail the piano, note for note, at minimum zero.  That is what I've
discovered, at any rate.  That's why a detailed restoration is _better_
than a factory job could ever be.

Craig Brougher



(Message sent Sat, 29 Mar 97 14:50:44 UT , from time zone +0000.)

Key Words in Subject:  Duo-Art, Heaven, Negro, Roll

Related by Subject:
1997.03.29.06 (This article) - Duo-Art Roll "Negro Heaven"
from Craig Brougher
1997.03.28.08 - Duo-Art Roll "Negro Heaven"
from Spencer Chase