Mechanical Music: Automated Instruments

foreign [Music] musical instruments take an awfully long time to master music professionals who often practice for thousands of hours in order to become proficient in their craft and that might be one of the reason that so many inventors across history have worked on machines that play the instruments for them automatic instruments allow the playing of instruments without the pesky requirement that you learn how to play an instrument and while they meet seem like Novelties today they represent culture and technology and Changing Times well the whole idea seems futuristic the history of automatic instruments is actually rather deep goes all the way back to antiquity it is a history that deserves to be remembered mechanizing musical instruments is an ancient concept and by the 4th Century BC numerous wind-fed organs had already been built possibly the earliest were aeolian Harps named for the Greek god of wind iolis and found across the ancient world from Greece to Indonesia to Ethiopia these Harps were simple boxes with strings that were played by allowing wind to blow through them became popular and the Romantic Era when it was reinvented around 1615. the organ is an instrument dates at least to the third Century BC in less than 200 years later a 130 BC text refers to what seems to be an early barrel-operated mechanical organ famous inventor Archimedes was the first to build a humanoid musical automation as a part of a larger hydrostatic water clock a water clock works by having water drained from a cistern at a predictable rate and thus allowing for the measurement of time Archimedes clock also powered Mechanical Devices including an executioner figure who was propelled along a track and who knocked the hinged heads off of prisoners on his way his water clocks also had a human figure which held a Byzantine whistle after 12 hours water collecting in the upper part of the cistern is siphoned into the lower pushing air out via the whistle which could be heard from a considerable distance and the purpose was to announce that the sister needed to be manually refilled apollonius of perga invented a complex flute player in the 3rd Century BC that was powered by a cistern filled by a stream so it could run continuously a system of water wheels and gears allows air to be continuously blown through a flute without human intervention in the First Century A.D hero of Alexandria described more simple self-plying instruments powered by water or wind he developed a number of singing birds at work like Archimedes whistle as well as a wind-powered organ which used a kind of windmill to power Pistons that produced the sound of a flute of course these early mechanical instruments were rather rudimentary capable of making sounds but not really playing instruments or songs while Europe was in the Dark Ages Greek texts were rescued and translated in the great Halls of wisdom of the Islamic golden age in the 9th century three brothers collectively called the Sons of Musa described a machine that could actually finger notes like apollonius's device it was continuously fed water but had multiple Chambers control each node and had a barrel that rolled with a water wheel that could affect which notes were played allowing for simple melodies the five foot tall machine was hidden within a shell that looked like a human and could finger the notes on a flute however the instrument is really a hydraulic organ the brothers also described versions that could play a loot to a sultry and they could play together as a band isn't clear if these machines were actually built but their descriptions show an incredible attention to detail other kinds of mechanical organs appear to have existed throughout the period including one predating the muses built in the early 9th century in 1206 Ismail al-jaziri wrote the book of knowledge of ingenious mechanical devices and describes several different kinds of automatic music devices especially machines that could play percussion instruments this included the water clock of the drummers which played a little drum several symbols and other drums and which would perform with glamorous sound every hour machine worked by use of a drum with pegs powered by a water wheel that pulled on strings attached to the figurine's arms the system also had a whistle also described are another device powered by wine in a boat with tambourine players and a harpist whose arms moved although he didn't actually play music though actual evidence is thin more of the machines were clearly built in the years it followed a manuscript dating to 1350 includes instructions to build a mechanical organ which even has an automated organist a human figure with jointed fingers sits at a piano and as the keys are pulled down the loose fingers follow giving the figure the illusion of playing the instrument these ancient and medieval devices were the basis of later invention especially in Europe after the 16th century the most famous of the early Renaissance mechanical organs was built at a villa near Rome powered by water similar to the ancient Greek types and supposedly built in 1549 according to contemporary reports these kinds of organs were extremely popular and several existed throughout Europe though none survived today the oldest known to survive and still work is a double-barreled mechanical organ in Salzburg built in 1502 famous composers made music for these organs such as Haydn and Mozart by the 16th century most mechanical instruments were powered not by water but by Clockwork in 1599 Thomas dalam on behalf of Queen Elizabeth the first presented the Sultan of turkey with a Clockwork organ an enormous machine possibly 16 feet tall built in England with Bellows barrels and organ pipes the machine was meant to play for six hours without any human intervention the 17th and 18th century saw an explosion of such machines Barrel or roller pianos and organs were especially common and run either by Springs in clockwork or hand crank Central Europe became the primary center for the construction mechanical organs along with the technologically similar cuckoo clocks of the German black forest a 1650 Treatise by althanzius kircher included a water-powered organ controlled by a peg barrel and an automated carry on a series of large Bells usually in a tower controlled by weights on ropes the German construction of flute clocks was popular enough that Haydn adapted 32 of his pieces explicitly for the instrument Mozart also composed several pieces specifically for flute clocks in the 1730s Jacques volkansal built two human figures one who played an orchestral flute and another who played a small tabored drum and three hole fight the flute players possibly the first to Automation in history to play an actual musical instrument as opposed to mimicking it with soft liver fingers and a fake tongue all was controlled by a pegged cylinder similar to Barrel organs more followed Marie Antoinette was presented with an automation that plays the hammer dulcimer in 1784. by 1786 at least 141 Craftsmen were making them in Berlin alone one contemporary writes that mechanical organs are appearing everywhere like mushrooms any who has the least preference to being fashionable carries a musical snuff box in his waistcoat pocket flute clocks Barrel organs musical cabinets abound everywhere in the streets the moment you enter any house you hear the click of a spring and the sounds of The Magic Flute appear as if from nowhere music boxes often run on a very similar system with a small barrel and a small instrument that follows the pins the barrel organ actually answered a particular problem from an unexpected group churches it's possible that Barrel organs were installed in churches as early as 1700 but certainly by the middle of the century organs were being purpose-built for churches prior to Barrel organs organs were rare in churches and music was usually played by a small band or a single violin in 1722 an English engraver suggested self-playing organs is a solution to ill-sun Psalms which were wretchedly performed self-playing instruments would be extremely useful for the good Harmony and unity of Music in churches use in churches was especially widespread in England these machines became more and more complex and by the late 18th century attempted to recreate entire orchestras in 1805 Johann melzel a friend of Beethoven invented the panharmonicon the machine could imitate many instruments as well as cannon fire and gunshots Beethoven composed Wellington's victory commemorating wiliken's victory over the French at the Battle of Victoria in 1813 specifically to be played on the machine organ Builders flight in Robinson built their own machines of the Apple wanacon based on the panharmonicon it had 1900 pipes and 45 organ stops as well as five keyboards that can be played manually a report from 1837 describes a human-shaped machine which could play a violin as well as a master and could obey the direction of the conductor though any other details have been lost the middle of the 19th century also saw the introduction of the orchestrian mechanical organ that was meant to sound like an entire Orchestra orchestrians varied wildly but could include trumpets percussion and pipes and Reeds that imitated other instruments one of the first orchestrians was built in Germany and demonstrated to Queen Victoria at Windsor Castle in England several were exhibited at Great exhibitions in 1851 and 1862 the music of such instruments was often the best according contemporary listeners the 1830s saw the development of orchestrian specifically for carnivals and fairs and large loud machines were developed to play music over the sound of the crowds and Machinery into the 20th century the large barrels of such machines were susceptible to damage and inventions look for a replacement as early as 1849 paper rolls were in use however it was not until 1887 that a German firm mastered pneumatic systems that perfected use of the perforated paper rolls the end of the 19th century saw these paper roll operated machines proliferators well as disc based systems Street organs also became common giving rise to the street performers known as organ grinders organets small organs that could be played in the home and used paper cardboard perforated metal discs or wooden rollers were first manufactured in the 1870s and powered by Bellows or cranks pneumatic systems gave rise to the player piano there these player pianos were cabinets with felt covered fingers that would be rolled over the piano's Keys who with a role made and powered by Bellows powered by foot pedals the fingers would actually press the piano keys the first successful commercial version was Edwin volley's pianola a standard size roll was developed and agreed upon generally 11 and a quarter inches wide and able to play 65 Keys companies rapidly began making rolls with catalogs running into the thousands Melville clerk upset the industry with his introduction of an 88 note format that can play all of the piano keys and Shifting the mechanical player inside the piano the Buffalo convention in 1908 decided on the standard roll size of 11 and a quarter inches wide these roles not only allowed listeners to hear popular music songs played well but also for new compositions that could never be played by a human at all because even the best pianists only have so many fingers while a machine could hit as many keys as it would like in Germany Edwin welt created a new kind of player which could record the performance of the player called the reproducing piano in 1904 the player could create roles that would play exactly as The Pianist played it the wealth minion machine would compete with later models such as the duo art released in 1914 in the mpico music critic Ernest Newman listened to a Duo art in London with a piece alternatively played by The Pianist and then by the recorded role with one's eyes closed it was impossible to say which was which he said the 1920s saw the player piano's most popular period essential backing to the Jazz Age in the US most roles became word roles which featured printed lyrics so users could sing with a piano accompaniment player piano sales peaked around 1924 and declined in the Years following 347 000 pianos were sold in the United States in 1923. the gramophone and radio would eventually replace self-paying instruments as home entertainment and the depression caused sales to plummet the 20th century also saw the development of enormous mechanical organs such as dance organs meant to be used in a dancehall or Ballroom originated in Paris they were popular throughout Europe before and after World War One They Were Meant to play popular music as opposed to religious music and aimed to mimic dance orchestras the large organs added instruments and Technology to adapt with popular music the 20th century saw all manner of instruments that could play themselves by mechanical contraption The Encore automatic banjo was produced between 1897 and 1906 and can play a number of songs for a nickel a pop in 1907 Ludwig hupfeld the German maker of automatic pianos and orchestrians introduced the photo list violina combined self-playing piano and violin with a rotating circular bow each violin leans forward and plays one string with all three together producing the sound of a single violin the highlight of the 1910 rules exhibition in Brussels and dubbed the eighth wonder of the world self-playing instruments have always been mechanical marvels of their time and that's why so many museums and music groups work so hard to preserve these remarkable historical artifacts they represent many facets of human Ingenuity combining mechanics and Robotics with the art of music and often of sculpture and woodworking while such mechanics might seem obsolete today in an age when music can be played for enjoyment in so many ways self-playing pianos are more common now than ever before but instead of using paper rolls they use digital recording technology and high-end models are even being produced by storied piano makers like Steinway and Sons and even industrial robots designed for factories can be programmed to play the piano or guitar and in a true Marvel of the information age could even play music composed entirely by computers but if there is one thing that the history of these machines really demonstrates is the enduring and universally human love of music of course today we have many ways to record and listen to music without having to have the band actually in the room with us but the fact that we have always and that we continue today to apply our best technology and our time and our effort in order to be able to listen to our Tunes whether from an alien Harper from Bluetooth earbuds tells us that this is more than just the history of Technology it is the history of humanity itself shout out to the Virginia musical Museum and Virginia Music Hall of Fame located at 6316 Richmond Road in Williamsburg in the Parker piano Outlet building in an area full of history and attractions this is a true Hidden Gem well worth your time I hope you enjoyed this episode of the history got check out our community on the historyguideguild.locals.com our webpage at thehistoryguy.com and our merchandise at teespring.com or book a special message from the history guy on Cameo and if you'd like more episodes of Forgotten history all you have to do is subscribe foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music]

Channel: The History Guy: History Deserves to Be Remembered

Views: 63,966

Keywords: history, history guy, the history guy, player piano

Id: nAc8emrLqC4

Length: 15min 30sec (930 seconds)

Published: Wed Oct 26 2022