[ Larry Schuette wrote in 130514 MMDigest, Building a Transparent
 [ Player Piano Action Model, "I always get into a discussion with
 [ people on just how a player piano works."

I had a similar experience when a cousin and his college-age friends
visited and I played our orchestrion for them, and their response
was, "How does it work?"

One was studying electronics and I tried to explain that the operation
was similar to simple early transistor-diode electronic logic with
"And" and "Or" gates, except that instead of manipulating electrons
using semi-conductors, the task was performed pneumatically using
positive and negative (vacuum) and neutral (static or atmospheric)
pneumatic pressures to operate the playing logic and mechanical
movement of the keys and selecting the instruments to be played.

Now, I've met bimbos who have had less blank looks on their faces --
this explanation went completely over their heads!  But now-a-days,
who needs to know anything about pneumatic logic when you have a smart
phone in your pocket!

My point, if there is one, is that this kind of primitive artificial
intelligence (a.k.a. robotic history) began long, long ago and is still
evolving, and the reminisces that we are enjoying in the form of
automatic musical instruments and their music is still relevant, and
what is more important is that these instruments are still physically
here for us to enjoy.

Hail the simple player piano and hail to Robert Hope Jones' Wurlitzer
pneumatic-electric pipe organ logic without which we would have a far
less musically colorful popular music history!

Tim L'Amoureux