Introduction
By Bob Fitterman
My name is Bob Fitterman. I just joined the group and at Jody's suggestion I am writing this introduction.
I have always had a passion for mechanical devices. I've accumulated a selected assortment of old office equipment and cameras. I played the piano from a young age and have a fond memory of my first exposure to a player piano.
About 15 years ago, someone filled me in on reproducing pianos, and I decided that I would eventually own one. Lack of space in my apartment kept me having any piano for many years, so when I finally had the space and money, I faced a new quandary: the Disklavier was around and I liked the idea of being able to record performances. I gave in and bought an upright Disklavier.
I'm relatively happy with the Disklavier although I've discovered some of the holes in the technology. Perhaps I should say there aren't any holes -- and I'm beginning to suspect that pneumatic technology has some benefits over what the Disklavier has to offer. Not everything a human plays into a Disklavier plays back properly, and that includes some commercial recordings sold by Yamaha, I am sad to say.
It was through the Disklavier User's Group (DUG) mailing list that I found MMD. Larry Kellogg posted a portion of Mark Fontana's Pianocorder article on the DUG list with a plea to Yamaha to help with the release process. I suspect it's fallen on deaf ears, but the benefit is that I found MMD.
That posting got me searching and I found the MMD archives. I've spent most of the last two days (don't tell my boss) reading through the archives and what a treasure they are! I think this forum is especially attractive because it is moderated.
My interests in mechanical music are all over the map, but one of my key interests is in the recovery of "trapped" performances. I am saddened to think that there are rolls, discs (spelled either way), etc. out there collecting dust because the instrument for which they were designed no longer exists, or the media and the device are separated. Thinking about this process and what can be done to help with it has captured my imagination. My professional background is in software and that has influenced my approach to the problem.
More than enough said! I'm delighted I found this group and I look forward to learning from it and sharing our common interests.
Bob Fitterman
bobf@ilx.com |
(Message sent Thu 21 Nov 1996, 16:55:40 GMT, from time zone GMT-0500.) |
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