Bravo to Paul Murphy for his excellent essay, and not just because he
echoes my sentiments so elegantly.  I have two homely but endearing
88-note pumpers in my living room, and I wouldn't trade either of them
for a reproducer, mechanical marvels though they may be.

Subtle as it may seem, the step 'up' from a pumper to a reproducer
crosses a critical line: the person is no longer a full participant in
creating the music.  It is the logical ancestor of all passive musical
devices that came after -- phonograph, radio, hi-fi, stereo, CD, ad
nauseum.  Though I am a lifelong musician, I haven't yet been able to
make that musical ability protrude from ten fingertips simultaneously;
yet, I can feel what the music should be, and am generally able to
render the essence of it from a plain roll and the colorings wrought
of two pedals and several expression and tempo levers.

What does it matter that elegant (and sometimes impossible) combinations
and sequences of piano keys are not being manually depressed to produce
the sounds?  With just the above listed inputs, music, not just notes,
is created, and my soul is satisfied.

Dan Harrett