Tom Cole wrote: > Doug Hershberger wrote: > > > > Hello list, > > I had always heard that these pianos with the four or five pedals were at > > one time used for accompanying silent movies. Supposedly they were on the > > wings of the stage and the pedals were used for effects. Old wives tale > > perhaps? Anyone else heard of this? > > I'm looking in a coffeetable book called simply "Piano" by David Crombie > in which it shows a picture of a massive upright piano next to a box of > organ pipes. It was made by the American Photo Player Company (1920 - > 1925) and contained numerous percussion and sound effect devices. Right you are!! Photo Players were very popular and common in silent movie houses. The idea was to provide various sound effects to accompany the show. Music rolls were orchestrated for specific types of programing and were played on either of the two spool boxes, (there were two so that one could be changed while the other was playing). The instrument could also be played manually or in combination. Typically the system featured a center console with one or two, (or more) separate cabinets that contained various pneumatically operated noise makers, chimes, pipes, and such. The keyboard section of course contained the piano. Unfortunately when the silent era ended abruptly there was little use or interest in these fantastic machines. Most were destroyed and sadly only a small handful remain today in the hands of collectors. Tragically most other types of music machines, (orchestrians, nickelodeons, band organs, etc.), experienced the same fate. Follow this link for a picture of a photo player: http://www.98.net/birdmusic/images/Photoplayer.gif Rob Goodale, RPT
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