Buying rolls without hearing them needn't be a troublesome
endeavor.  I see it as more of an adventure.  To quote Forrest Gump,
"Life is like..." ah, never mind.

A number of other factors besides the arrangement influence
whether or not you enjoy a roll.  Rather than seeking out rolls
by certain arrangers, I try to judge each roll individually.
Although I enjoy most of J. Lawrence Cook's arrangements, having
his name on a roll is no guarantee that I'll like it.  Some
people have produced arrangements superior to his.

I look at other factors besides the arrangement.  Being an
amateur historian, I find the lyrics of old rolls very revealing
when it comes to learning about the attitudes and social mores of
the era.  Besides, playing a piano roll is much more fun than
reading a dry, boring history book!

Fun is another factor.  I look for rolls with unusual or amusing
titles.  Many of the novelty or humorous rolls are not award-winning
songs, but they're wonderful entertainment, and can provide more laughs
and smiles than the great masterpieces.

Personal and/or sentimental reasons can also influence your
tastes. When I was little, my dad bought a marimba and taught
himself to play it.  He played the marimba in--you guessed it--
marimba style.  (It was years before I learned that the
instrument could be played in more than one style!)  The marimba
stood not too far from my bedroom door.  Dad had a bad habit of
playing it whenever he felt the urge, even at 7:30 a.m. on a
Saturday morning when I was trying to sleep in!  Being awakened
from peaceful sleep by the sound of a marimba is not exactly a
pleasant wake-up call. If anyone has a good reason for disliking
marimba arrangements, it's me.

But not all personal and sentimental influences are negative.
When I was about 7 or 8, my grandmother broke her hip and was
confined to bed at home.  We visited her and were playing piano
rolls to entertain her.  She wanted to hear me play a march tune
called "Lights Out."  Musically, this song would probably be in most
people's reject pile.  Ah, but the sentimental value of the song
to _me_ is priceless.  (Yes, I have that roll!)

Joyce Brite
brite@ksu.edu       http://www-personal.ksu.edu/~brite/