To me, sitting down and pumping a hundred-year-old player piano is the closest I'll ever come to actual time travel. Being able to play a piano roll just as it would have been played when manufactured long ago is a powerful experience. And, since player pianos allow the operator to control the dynamics of the music, I get to be involved in the artistry of the song as the piano reads the roll. This makes for a very immersive experience! I grew up with a player piano that was owned by my grandparents. They purchased several rolls with popular Disney songs of my childhood to share with me. Hearing songs from The Lion King and Charlie Brown planted the seed for my interest in mechanical music at a young age. Now, as an adult , my interest in these interests is multi-faceted. As a full-time restorer, I have the privilege of bringing heirloom pianos back to life for families that will pass their treasured instruments to their younger generations, just like my grandparents did with me. I also get an inside look at how these pianos were designed and manufactured, uncovering secrets that haven't seen the light of day since the piano left the factory - each piano that comes through my shop is unique in this way, and I get to become part of that pianos story and journey. And as a steward of my own piano roll and piano collection, I have had a first hand look and listen to the evolution of popular music and pianos from the Edwardian era and beyond the 1960's. I have really enjoyed being able to dive into the past through old songs and their lyrics, discovering music that is certainly old but very new to me.
Nate Otto, Rum River Restoration