Book music
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Book Music is a medium for storing the music played on mechanical organs, mainly of European manufacture. Book music is made from thick cardboard, containing perforated holes representing the musical notes to be played, with the book folded zig-zag style. Unlike the heavy pinned barrels, which could only contain a few tunes of fixed length that had been used on earlier instruments, book music enabled large repertoires to be built up and the length of each tune was no longer determined by the physical dimensions of the instrument.
In 1892, organ maker Anselmo Gavioli patented the "book organ," a series of folded sheets of cardboard, which allowed air through holes punched on the pages of the folded book, to make the pipes of the organ sound.[1] The development marked a turning-point in the history of the mechanical organ, and made Gavioli until their demise in 1910, the most famous and prolific fair organ builders.[2]
Book Music was the most commonly used medium for large instruments. Used extensively by fairground and street organ makers, book music was also used by Henri Fourneaux in 1863 in his Pianista.[3]
One of the advantages of book music is, that it can be mechanically interpreted, by having so-called "keys" (levers on springs with an upside down "V"-shaped hook at the end) run underneath the book, which will mechanically open valves, whenever a hole in the book passes by. Paper rolls on the other hand are "key-less" and are generally only read by pneumatic pressure or suction. Some mechanical organs, particularly those of German manufacture by firms such as Gbr Bruder and Ruth play keyless cardboard book music, operating pneumatically.
The disadvantage of book music, compared to paper rolls, is the increased size and weight to store and equivalent amount of music. The major advantage of book music however is that it is sturdy and not subject to expansion and contraction with humidity. In addition as it is not necessary to rewind a book after playing a musical performance may continue without a prolonged break. This allows for large books to be manufactured, allowing musically versatile capabilities and in Europe is the preferred method of operating all but the smallest instruments designed for outdoor use.
[edit] References
[edit] See also
- Punched card - Book music was originally developed by taping a stack of punched cards together.
- Punched tape
- Player piano
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