Greetings,  I am still amazed, while watching the rolls go by, that
the wonderful music I am hearing is actually encoded only by the holes
in paper.  I am more amazed when I am not looking at the rolls and am
just listening to the music.

Watching the roll tends to be more of cognitive, intellectual
experience, constantly trying to relate the holes to the music that is
playing.  For me, it is easier to appreciate the music as music without
this distraction.  It amazes me even more that there is so much
excellent music recorded so long ago.  That is why I spend a major
portion of my time on this earth preserving this music and providing
alternative ways of enjoying it.

Now for the negatives:

The paragraph quoted at the end of this letter and the attitude that
fostered it is just what we do not need in the field of mechanical
music collecting.  People have different ways of enjoying what they
experience.  I do not condemn others for doing things differently
than I.  I also do not make assumptions as to what others are doing
when they listen to music.

It is not the electronic computer thing that allows people to do
anything.  Has the author experienced my use of this system?  Does he
know how I listen to music?

My experience is that the vast majority of people who listen to rolls
do exactly what he describes.  They put on the roll and talk above it,
sometimes about it, but more often about whatever is on their minds.
Personally, I never listen to music as background, whether it is a CD,
a 78 played on my Orthophonic, or a roll or MIDI file played on my
Duo-Art.  I have been known to turn the piano off (politely or more
often abruptly) when people are not listening.

The electronic interface has enhanced my enjoyment of Duo-Art and Welte
by allowing me to listen to the music as music without anticipating the
effects of the expression codes or worrying if it may be the last time
I may listen to that favorite roll before it self-destructs.  It also
allows me to listen to Welte T100 rolls without needing another piano
for that format.  I still have a few thousand rolls that I can listen
to when the mood strikes but my best musical experiences are when
I create a program of several hours of music and sit back and enjoy it.

  "And here's why I'm worried.  It's this electronic computer thing
  that allows people to run their piano without rolls.  Turn it on
  and ignore it, like a CD, no longer watching the roll go by, seeing
  and anticipating what's about to happen (yes, it still holds my
  enraptured attention).  No, just a tracker-bar smothered under
  Saran Wrap."

I am also not likely to dump my collection of over 2000 CDs of music
of all types.  These performances were not recorded on piano rolls.
I can enjoy them, without ignoring them even if they are not full
of holes.

Best regards,
Spencer Chase
Laytonville, Calif.
http://www.spencerserolls.com/