Not all rolls have a single tempo marked on them -- Aeolian spent a
small fortune on adding Metrostyle lines to convey the roll editor's
suggestion about the way the piece could be phrased.  If you've got a
Pianola (with or without its Metrostyle pointer) these lines often give
a good starting point for a decent musical interpretation, which you
can then build on.  Other makes of player where the tempo isn't aligned
and scaled to the Metrostyle markings don't make it as easy to follow
the suggested tempo, but you can still make use of it.

Metrostyle markings have a tarnished reputation because the ladies
who operated the copying machines are thought to have done a rather
slapdash job at times (although some rolls are stencilled and should
be more accurate).

But -- I recently got a roll that I wanted to get to grips with
musically, and dug out a CD of the piece to get some idea of its
overall sound.  Playing the roll alongside the performance I was
astonished to find that the Metrostyle line was pretty well exactly
in line with the pianist!  Pure coincidence?  Maybe, but it's another
of these times when our "we know better" attitudes are quite possibly
wrong.

The trouble with player piano operators relying on their musical
judgement is that only too often they either don't have any to start
with or it vanishes as soon as the music starts!  "Set the tempo to
my choice" often means "play everything at the same musical beat."

I was involved with a recital a while back where there was a nice
mixture of fast-, medium- and slow-tempo pieces.  The player performed
every one at the same beat rate, completely missing the point of most
of the music.  How many of us have unusually high- or low-tempo rolls
with a totally inappropriate medium tempo written on them?  Something
to be aware of, anyway, when choosing a tempo.

Player pianist's roll interpretations are usually rather timid, setting
a tempo and sticking to it.  Trying the match a metronomic arranged
roll of Rachmaninoff against his Ampico rolls (for instance) can be
quite startling, with the tempo lever ranging from pretty well stopped
to nearly flat out.  I suppose that the confidence to do all that to
a piece, and get it to sound right, is one of those things that makes
a great artist.  We don't get to hear many great artists operating
player pianos; more's the pity.  Most are from the Victor Sylvester
school.

Julian Dyer