In a recently published Washington Post article, Richard Harrington
described the early days of the phonograph and recorded music.  The
article focused more on the social and cultural effects of the
phonograph rather than the technology of the machine.  One paragraph
in particular caught my attention:

   "Between the Civil War and the early years of the 20th century,
    the music business in America consisted mainly of sheet music and
    piano rolls, and the pianos and organs they were played on.  While
    sheet music conferred immortality on composers in the same way
    books did for authors, it only captured composition, not
    interpretation or performance."

This passage is troublesome for a several reasons.  First, he has made
the erroneous generalization of grouping piano rolls in the same broad
category with sheet music.  When he insinuates that piano rolls do not
capture "interpretation or performance," he demonstrates his ignorance
of the mechanical music medium.

In his article, Harrington extols the marvels of recorded music.
His use of the phrase "recorded music" raises another question:
What constitutes a recording?  A phonograph record or CD is easily
designated as a recording, but apparently a piano roll is not, at least
in Harrington's opinion.

Is a piano roll a recording?  Also, in light of recent MMD discussions
concerning MIDI, should that medium be categorized as a recording?

Joyce Brite
Player Piano and Mechanical Music Exchange
http://mmd.foxtail.com/Exchange/