A
barrel piano (also known as a "roller piano") is a forerunner of the modern
player pianoA player piano is a self-playing piano, containing a pneumatic or electro-mechanical mechanism that operates the piano action via pre-programmed music perforated paper, or in rare instances, metallic rolls...
. Unlike the pneumatic player piano, the barrel piano was usually by turning a hand crank, though coin operated models powered by clockwork were used to provide music in establishments such as
pubsA public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises in countries and regions of British influence. Although the terms often have different connotations, there is little definitive difference between pubs, bars,...
and
caféA café , also spelled cafe, is an informal restaurant offering a range of hot meals and made-to-order sandwiches. This differs from a coffee house, which is a limited-menu establishment which focuses on coffee sales. Depending on the jurisdiction, a café may be licensed to serve alcohol. The term...
s. Barrel pianos were popular with street musicians, who sought novel instruments that were also highly portable. They are frequently confused with
barrel organA barrel organ is a mechanical musical instrument consisting of bellows and one or more ranks of pipes housed in a case, usually of wood, and often highly decorated...
s, but are quite different instruments.
The central element of the barrel piano was a wooden barrel that contained strategically placed pins that would control the music when the barrel was turned.
Discussion
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A
barrel piano (also known as a "roller piano") is a forerunner of the modern
player pianoA player piano is a self-playing piano, containing a pneumatic or electro-mechanical mechanism that operates the piano action via pre-programmed music perforated paper, or in rare instances, metallic rolls...
. Unlike the pneumatic player piano, the barrel piano was usually by turning a hand crank, though coin operated models powered by clockwork were used to provide music in establishments such as
pubsA public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises in countries and regions of British influence. Although the terms often have different connotations, there is little definitive difference between pubs, bars,...
and
caféA café , also spelled cafe, is an informal restaurant offering a range of hot meals and made-to-order sandwiches. This differs from a coffee house, which is a limited-menu establishment which focuses on coffee sales. Depending on the jurisdiction, a café may be licensed to serve alcohol. The term...
s. Barrel pianos were popular with street musicians, who sought novel instruments that were also highly portable. They are frequently confused with
barrel organA barrel organ is a mechanical musical instrument consisting of bellows and one or more ranks of pipes housed in a case, usually of wood, and often highly decorated...
s, but are quite different instruments.
Operation
The central element of the barrel piano was a wooden barrel that contained strategically placed pins that would control the music when the barrel was turned. The operator used a hand crank for this purpose, and could control the speed of the music by turning the crank slower or faster. Barrels typically contained a small number of short tunes; therefore, the musical repertoire was limited by the number of barrels one could afford and transport around.
Barrel pianos typically had a range of 40-48 [Non-Chromatic scale] notes, in contrast to standard pianos that normally had 85 or 88 keys.
History
Barrel pianos were first developed in the early 19th century as an attempt to mechanically automate piano music. They never found their way into homes in any significant quantity, instead being favored by street musicians and other entertainers and as background music in commercial premises. It is believed that the production of barrel pianos originated in
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
, although one of first prominent manufacturers, Welte, was based in
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.
Laterna
A variant of the barrel piano became very popular in Greece in the late 19th and early 20th century. It was named
laterna or
rhombia. It was in the shape of an oversized trunk that could be carried on the player's back with straps and would be propped up on foldable wooden legs. The first laternas were crafted in
ConstantinopleConstantinople was the imperial capital of the Roman Empire , the Byzantine/Eastern Roman Empire , the Latin Empire , and the Ottoman Empire...
by the Italian Giuseppe Turconi and the Greek Joseph Armaos. Piano parts were mainly used in its assembly and the mechanism included a barrel with nails, which plucked steel pegs which released spring-loaded levers that struck the piano strings and an included bell. The instrument's range was three and a half
octaveIn music, an octave , is the interval between one musical pitch and another with half or double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon which has been referred to as the "basic miracle of music," the use of which is "common in most musical systems." It may be derived from the...
s. The barrel was turned by a hand crank and was usually big enough to contain nine songs.
Variations
Some manufacturers, such as Favienta of
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,
SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
, produced barrel pianos with advanced accessories, such as:
- A model that could play the standard six-tune barrels as well as a barrel of three tunes. The three tune barrel had a threaded addition on it and the cylinder moved slowly on its vertical axis as you cranked. At the end of the third tune, the keyframe moved out of the way of the barrel pins, the barrel shifted to the start position, and the first song started over.
- A model that added an electric motor for continuous unassisted playing.
External links
History of the laterna
A laterna song from a 1955 Greek film
A laterna being carried by its player