EMUSIC-L Digest Volume 35, Issue 05 This issue's topics: MIDI Conversion of Player-Piano Music Rolls (5 messages) Your EMUSIC-L Digest moderator is Joe McMahon . You may subscribe to EMUSIC-L by sending mail to listserv@american.edu with the line "SUB EMUSIC-L your name" as the text. The EMUSIC-L archive is a service of SunSite (sunsite.unc.edu) at the University of North Carolina. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Date: Thu, 12 Dec 1991 17:34:06 CST From: U21920@UICVM.UIC.EDU Subject: MIDI Conversion of Player-Piano Music Rolls I would like to use a MIDI sequencer to run a solenoid-triggered, player-piano type device using the original music which came with the device on player-piano type music rolls. In order to do this, I need some help figuring out how to accomplish two tasks: 1) I need to find a way to take the information on the old, player-piano type music rolls and feed it as directly as possible into a MIDI sequencer. Does anyone have any ideas on/experience with converting this type of info to MIDI? 2) I then need to use the MIDI "note-on" info from the MIDI sequencer to trigger the solenoids on the player-piano device. Does anyone know how I might be able to do this? Help, anyone, please!!! If you could email your responses to me I will post a summary to the net. Thank you... Thank you... Thank you... --------------------------------- Michael Levine University of Illinois at Chicago Internet: U21920@UICVM.UIC.EDU --------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 13 Dec 1991 08:45:15 PST From: "Matthew Rogalsky" Subject: Re: MIDI Conversion of Player-Piano Music Rolls Hello, Michael. I can't offer much definite information on the subject of piano roll->MIDI conversion, but: check out the work of Trimpin, a German(?) artist/ composer/performer who has built his own MIDI-driven player piano devces (actually a long row of solenoids that sits OVER any piano keyboard, thus is quite portable). Trimpin has "transcribed" some of the player piano music written by composer Conlon Nancarrow, which is fantastic stuff. Nancarrow is 80+ and living in Mexico City, still writing compositions for his modified player pianos using a roll-punching machine he designed and built. I don't know what method Trimpin used for transcribing Nancarrow's rolls. I have used a Yamaha MIDI grand before, an output-only device, connected to a MIDI player piano, an upright. The velocity action on the player was quite good. I saw David Rosenboom and others perform with these instruments last summer and they worked very well. Matt R. rogalsky@mailserver.sfu.ca ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 13 Dec 1991 10:33:31 EST From: "Douglas M. Kopp" Subject: rolls > Michael Levine University of Illinois at Chicago Internet: U21920@UICVM.UIC.EDU - > 1) I need to find a way to take the information on the old, player-piano type music rolls and feed it as directly as possible into a MIDI sequencer. Does anyone have any ideas on/experience with converting this type of info to MIDI? Mike, I have for years wanted to do this. As an owner of some midi eq and a roll player I have wanted to interface my keyboard to the player (it creates such a honky-tonk atmosphere). I will be willing to work with you on this and any others interested. You must have a grand player as most upright players have a vacuum system of key actuators.......Thanks Doug Kopp ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 13 Dec 1991 11:30:00 EDT From: RAY BROHINSKY Subject: Re: rolls For what it's worth: Yamaha were showing (to be correct, a music store was showing it) a [n] upright grand at `the big E' two or three years ago, which I looked into quite closely, since I'd just started messing with tuning and repairing pianos. First, let me say that this was indeed a world-class piano. The mechanism was excellent, and gave every appearance of not becoming slopy with age. The workmanship was also execellent, especially in that the places where pianomakers can hide sloppiness were just as pristine and well-crafted as the visible places. The action was also world class, the repetition capabilities on the order of better full grands. All in all, a very nice piano. That wasn't sufficient for Yamaha, though. This was a player. The player mechanism was all electro-mechanical, but the solenoids were backed up with sensors. There wasn't a roll reader on board, but the salesman mentioned that there were people who translate rolls. I also remembered reading that someone was translating rolls using something like a couple of c-64's coupled to a reader. This piano had a 3.5" disk drive and a midi sequencer, and had midi in-out-thru. They were neatly installed, not at all obvious. The piano was Yamaha-black-finish, and the electronics actually blended in very nicely. Not the sort of instrument to use neon-orange cables with! It sold in the 6000-dollar range then. I don't even know if such a thing is still available. Anyway, for roll conversion or help in setting up a roll converter, Yamaha's customer support may be helpful. What I don't know is whether you should call yamaha electronic instrument support, or yamaha's pianomaking support. Nor do I know the numbers. TINAR, by the way, but if you like the touch of Yamaha pianos, I can recommend them (as a tuner/repair person, not as a pianist!) raybro ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 13 Dec 1991 13:28:11 EST From: The Radio Gnome Subject: Player piano rolls --> MIDI Hi, Heres a suggestion from the twighlight zone... 1) Scan the rolls into a PC/MAC WP package. The OCR software will translate the holes into its "unknown" character (usually a # sign). 2) Save the results into a text file. 3) Write a simple BASIC/Pascal/C program to parse each line of this file and convert the tab positions of each '#' into numbers. 4) Some midi boards come with programming interfaces so you could spew those numbers right back out to your midi controller, otherwise you'll have to save those numbers in a format that your composition SW can read. Rube Goldberg, eat your heart out ;-> ------------------------------ End of the EMUSIC-L Digest ******************************