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MMD
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triola
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& List of Music Rolls by John Wolff (MMD 000309)
The Triola is basically a conventional 6-chord zither fitted with a roll-playing mechanism. There is a full-page illustration on page 356 of "Encyclopedia of Automatic Musical Instruments" by Q. David Bowers. A 6-chord zither has two full chromatic octaves of melody strings (25 notes, C60 to C84), and six pre-set 4-note chords in the bass. Starting from the left (the long end), the notes for each chord are Chord 6: Emaj: E64, B, G#, EThese are arranged left-to-right in descending order (except for the third string of chord 5), but are actually played right-to-left. The fourth (right-most) note in each chord is a heavy wound string which serves to locate the chord when playing. At the most basic level, playing the chord zither involves plucking the melody notes with the right hand and strumming the appropriate bass chords with the left. A tune sheet can be slipped under the strings to show the pattern of the melody and the numbers for the bass chords.
The Triola is about an inch taller than the typical 6-chord zither (the bass strings are 17-3/8" between bridges), and has only one string per note in the melody (instead of the normal two). The playing mechanism operates only on the melody strings. 25 plucking fingers (actually small springs) are suspended above the strings, and are continuously vibrated side-to-side by a cam-and-roller mechanism as the handle is turned. The perforations in the roll allow the fingers to drop down to engage with the strings. The vibration of the fingers means that the melody plays with a continuous mandolin or tremolo effect. The Triola operator still has to play the bass chords with the left hand, according to the numbers and timing marked on the roll. With his third hand, the operator works a lever to control the depth of the plucking mechanism, to act as a volume control. Triola rolls are 150 mm (5-7/8") wide, on heavy brown paper about 0.005" thick. The perforations are continuous slots with semi-circular ends. The slots are 4 mm wide (about 5/32") on 5 mm centres. (See the illustration in Bowers). The rolls are wound on wooden spools with thin sheet-metal ends 42 mm (about 1-11/16") diam. They are easily identified by the word TRIOLA (one word) usually embossed on each end of the spool, or by the chord numbers (1 to 6) printed along the edge of the roll. John Wolff
Here is a partial list of about 55 Triola rolls, transcribed from original
roll labels. There seems to be no system or sequence to the numbering
-- Wagner, Berlin, Kenbrovin, and Mendelssohn are all in together.
09 March 2000 |
In
MMD 000307 Philippe Rouille asked for details on how to tune a Triola.
Kevin McElhone has asked several times for roll listings for various instruments,
including the Triola. These notes attempt to answer both requests,
and to provide some general information about the instrument.
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