Vintage Player Piano Rolls: Paper Rolls with Holes Make Music
The piano-player system was invented by Edwin Votey in 1895, and the first player piano was introduced by Melville Clark soon after 1900. Both produced music with use of music storage mediums called piano rolls, which are rolls of paper with holes punched in them that represented musical notes. These rolls later became desirable collector's items. You'll find a variety of new and used piano rolls to add to your collection on eBay.
What types of player piano rolls are there for sale?There are several different types of vintage player piano rolls for sale that are favorites of many collectors, including the following:
- Instrumental Rolls - With the dawn of the new jazz age, the introduction of the foxtrot, and the continuing demand for hearing classical music, instrumental piano rolls sales increased significantly.
- Hand-played Rolls - To include musical phrasing in player piano rolls, hand-played rolls were created. With these antique piano rolls for sale, player pianists no longer needed to use tempo controls to create musical phrasing. Many of these rolls are still available as player piano music rolls on eBay.
- Word Rolls - These innovative rolls included song lyrics that were printed in the margins. This made it easier to enjoy group-singing at casual events or when families gathered around the player piano at home to sing together.
Since their invention, player piano rolls have been produced using several different methods that create varied sound qualities for you to choose from, including the following:
- Master stencil - Player-pianists were able to personalize their performances for a more expressive, natural sound using pianola rolls that were made using master stencils created directly from printed sheet music.
- Metronome - Player piano rolls that were produced from the even rhythm of a metronome will give you a more regimented sound.
- Live performance - Player piano rolls created from live piano performances will provide you with concert-quality output.
- Computer software - QRS piano rolls created using computer and MIDI software are available for sale in large quantities and are often easier to locate and buy.
Main brands of vintage eBay pianola (or piano) rolls that are available for sale include the following:
- QRS - The QRS Music Company began producing QRS piano rolls in 1900 and has created more than 45,000 music rolls. This company offers QRS piano rolls of artists like Liberace, Ella Fitzgerald, and Yanni.
- Ampico - The American Piano Company created a unique player piano, or "expression piano," called "The Ampico" to demonstrate how well a player piano could reproduce a live performance. The wide range of Ampico piano rolls includes works of Beethoven and Chopin and performances by George Gershwin and Al Jolson.
- Aeolian - The Aeolian Company manufactured early player pianos, organs, sheet music, and piano rolls featuring performances of such artists as Edythe Baker and Eubie Blake.