Emphasis on Robbie
By Douglas K. Rhodes
Greetings: With all the recent discussion of editorial style that has been going on here at MMD, I thought it time I weighed in with an observation, supported by anecdotal evidence.
Regular contributors to the Mechanical Music Digest may have noticed that their postings have sometimes been altered very slightly by the time they appear in the Digest. Spelling errors may have been corrected, paragraph line feeds inserted to improve reading flow, and the like. A particular editing characteristic that I have noted from our Relief Editor, Robbie Rhodes, is his predilection for adding emphasis, such as "!", where none may have existed in the original posting. For those who have been puzzled by this unusual editing technique, perhaps I can offer an explanation.
You see, Rob bought a Weber Ampico grand piano when he was seventeen. I always knew that it had been a tremendous influence on his own piano playing, but I never guessed, until now, how it had also shaped him for his role, later in life, as a text editor.
I was ten years old when this piano first arrived in our home. Like most unrestored Ampicos, the louds were too loud, and the softs were too soft. Rob and brother John re-built the action - twice - in an effort to improve this condition. I am afraid that by the time the Ampico action was finally working more in accordance with the manufacturers intentions, the damage had already been done.
Sometime during the first year we had the piano, I recall getting up in the middle of the night, and seeing Rob working at the kitchen table. He had his X-Acto knife in his left hand, and was cutting holes into each edge of a QRS roll. I realize now, after so many years, that he was actually cutting _three_ oblong holes at each edge, followed by a short one an inch or so later. Over and over, three longs and a short, the length of the roll, almost at random, it seemed.
Rob was carving in the Ampico coding for "full intensity", followed by "cancel". I was too young to understand the long-term significance of this, though it certainly was a shocking experience the first time his customized roll of "Entry of the Gladiators" was played on the Ampico. Wow! Now _there_ was emphasis! [Emphasis mine - D.R.]
I could go on, but I think you get the picture. It's remarkable how simple chiidhood experiences with expensive mechanical toys can alter a person forever. Please, please, those of you with reproducing pianos: hide those X-Acto knives from your children! Later in life, those blades could be traded for a computer keyboard.
BTW, Robbie, keep up the good work! [Emphasis definitely mine - D.R.]
Doug Rhodes
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(Message sent Wed 12 Feb 1997, 01:49:01 GMT, from time zone GMT-0800.) |
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