Pedaller's Paradise!
By Darrell Clarke
G'day all,
Well what a wonderful description Dan Wilson has given us of the (almost) lost art of playing the old themed music rolls. Many thanks Dan, your advice could save beginners and the less perservering of us many hours of frustration trying to develop the right techniques. I have always enjoyed playing Themodist and similar expression rolls on my 1914 Stroud Duo-Art in the D-A off position because it plays all 88 notes and had the accompaniment and theme expression levers placed together so that one hand can easily operate them differentially. In the in-between position (D-A on/off) it will theoretically play other reproducing rolls without expression, but I still have to tape over the rewind and motor off holes or I won't get far! Even though it is not a pumper, my feet are still busy with the pedals and I feel I am contributing my fullest to the expression of the music, I just don't get quite so much exercise! I have a few beautifully made Aeolian "Pianolists' Library" Themodist Metrostyle rolls which I treasure, particularly Dvorak's New World Symphony. They are very high quality both musically and in presentation and seem to have been made just before "hand played" rolls became available. There seemed to be two series in blue or red boxes, always the same height, and fitted with metal clips to hold the roll. I have one which was "personally" arranged by the composer, Cecile Chaminade, but not hand played.
Thanks also to Dan for his enlightening description of some of the other systems and their rivalry with the bigger players (no pun intended!). When is your book on the history of the industry to be published Dan? Put me down for a copy! Someone, possibly John Phillips, asked about Solo-Elle rolls and I don't recall seeing a response. I have a couple by QRS and they seem vaguely similar to Recordo. Does anyone know about them? Another interesting roll I have is by the Filmusic Co, Los Angeles, and is intended to be played as theme music for silent movies. Called Picturolls, they were made for many different moods, my roll being called "Furioso", intended for dramatic action scenes, I think. Needless to say, it sounds pretty weird on its own!
Long live the 88 note players, not just pumpers!
Darrell
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(Message sent Fri 13 Sep 1996, 16:26:00 GMT, from time zone GMT-0600.) |
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