I was wondering if I could raise a storm of opinion as to the
attributes of various types of programming [media] for street organs:
barrels, books, computer chips, and rolls.

Which type of programming do you prefer and please defend your
decision?

Mark S. Curtis
GusLuke@aol.com


 [ Editor's observations:
 [
 [ Since I collect the binary _music_ and not the binary _media_,
 [ I prefer a computer file, because it's the cheapest.  It's easy
 [ to store 25 tunes on a 50-cent floppy disk (and that's my "2 cents
 [ worth"!  ;)
 [
 [ The operator of a street organ or carousel organ probably agrees;
 [ he might remark, "Barrels and paper are for collectors and museums.
 [ I need a reliable music playing system with a source of new tunes
 [ and low cost per tune."
 [
 [ On the other hand, collectors and museums probably place greater
 [ importance on the traditional machinery -- after all, their
 [ guests are usually more interested in the visual display than
 [ in the sounds produced.
 [
 [ Therefore, as always <sigh>, the goals of the musical artist
 [ and the instrument architect must be balanced with the wishes
 [ of the guy who pays the money.  Guess who gets his wishes!
 [
 [ -- Robbie