MMD and Friends,  These days I spend too much time rambling on an
advertising revenue-based social medium called Facebook.  It's fun for
someone who has a lot to share.  But the ears of appreciation, never 
mind understanding, don't live there.

A nice fellow -- a friend of mine Danny Jones (known locally and in
the music profession as "Kountry Kuz") -- knows about my player pianos
and general interest.  He was kind enough to share with me a posting
that he discovered.  This was a video of a Phonolist playing.  My
response to Danny became long and thoughtful and I felt some of the
remarks might hit a note, strike a chord with my old MMD pals.

Understand I wrote this in a very familiar voice.  Almost tongue-in-
cheek at times.  It's the way old-time Southern Gents converse in the
part of Georgia I now call my home.  So here it is, for what it's worth.
I hope some of you enjoy it!

Frank Himpsl

-- Some Personal Recollections of the Hupfeld Phonolist Violina --

Thank you, Kuz!  You have a heart of solid gold.

You know I had the privilege of working along Hupfeld Phonolist Violina
instruments before!  I was even given the opportunity to experience
the best known surviving example of this Mechanical Wonder.  The one
I heard is unique because attached to it is a very large closed cabinet
of percussive instruments!  Like drums, etc.  But any example of a
Phonolist is really something indeed.

The instruments like the one you showed me are very scarce and valuable.
The kind with those three violins on top of the piano -- most were in
Germany.  That's where they were made.  And thousands were made.  But
WW2 destroyed Germany, and things like this German dance hall machine
were destroyed too.

You probably remember me talking with you about my mom.  Your mother is
such a Sweet Lady; man, I was privileged to meet her.  I love her too,
pal.

Anyways you know my mom was born in the Rheinland section of Germany
in 1925.  Grew up there.  Met my dad probably late '44 or early '45.
It would have been during the advancement initiative in the months
following Normandy Beach.  Of course the ending of that story is the
fellow writing to you this late evening.

Mom knew, of course, how much I loved player pianos.  She didn't like
hearing them _all_ the time, which was me, but mom was great.

One time mom mentioned to me that her daddy (my maternal grandfather)
had taken her from their little village of Westhofen over to a dance
hall.  It was probably in a bigger town, but nearby.  She said this
dance hall had a machine that played the music for folks to dance to!
She was young so couldn't remember too much.  But for certain it was
the first time she'd seen something playing music from a paper roll.

Well, I just needed to know more about what that machine mom saw was!
Fortunately, a great guy by the name of Q. David Bowers had exhaustively
researched just about every kind of automatic musical instrument
imaginable.  And he published what he found in a huge book called the
"Encyclopedia of Automatic Musical Instruments."  It's easily 1000
pages, maybe more.  And that was years back.  1960s, I recall.

So one afternoon I sat down with my mom and we thumbed through the
German automatic musical instruments in Mr. Bowers' book.  Page after
page there was nothing.  Then we came to the Hupfeld Company.

And with another page turn my mom about screamed.  Then she started
crying.  Because she remembered the machine with the paper roll in
front.  Remembered it had three violins on top.  As a little German
girl, my mother had kicked up her heels to nothing other than a
Hupfeld Phonolist Violina.

I said above that, although Hupfeld built these incredible machines
by the thousand, WW2 claimed most of them.  They are rare today.
Depending on competition, original fully restored and pristine examples
can sell for a million dollars or more!

I was Blessed.  You know the owner of the incredible Phonolist had
quickly become a really great friend.  Like you and I are friends.
But this friend is a scientist guy like me.  So we hit it off in a
different way.  But it was all still about _music!_

I not only got to hear this instrument, I was encouraged to open it
up and study its incredible complexities.  That's what us science guys
are about!

Would you believe, the instrument can play with expression?  I mean as
if there were real people playing the violin and piano?

Would you imagine what the insides of such a brilliant invention of
past creativity is like.  Kuz, it's all little tinkertoys, really!
Supremely crafted little wooden valves, clickers, clappers and whappers.

I was humbled and (almost) speechless.  Because I then looked at my
friend scientist who owned this incredible machine.  And I realized why
we became friends so quickly.  Because surely he loves music.  But his
drive for collecting instruments like this is out of pure scientific
curiosity.  More importantly, it's about Humility and Respect.  For
an earlier generation of unbelievable craftsmen and scientists.  Who
turned literally a bunch of wooden sticks and leather skins into
something _amazing._  And so purely wonderful.

When I had the roll business [Valley Forge Music Roll Company] several
folks asked for these Phonolist rolls.  Prepping for the job was some
deal.  After that I cut hundreds of Phonolist rolls for collectors
worldwide.

It was tough prepping, because that old German automatic musical
instrument business must have been fiercely competitive!  I mean the
lengths these old timers went to to protect their ideas.  Incredible!

Most German automatic musical instrument scales (as defined by the
wooden or brass "tracker bar" which reads digital information from the
paper roll) make _no_ musical sense at all.  They are crazy!  One hole
can play a piano note; the next might play an entirely different fiddle
note!

On the Phonolist, well, they got _really_ special.  Because the tracker
bar had only so many holes, and there were too many piano and fiddle
things to do, they invented something called "multiplexing!"  That's
like throwing Einstein's Theory of Relativity into the game!

Anyways, I remember figuring out just the metrics on that scale were
challenging.  It surely wasn't the English metric.  And I don't think
it was the metric system either!  It was something kinda weird and
in-between.  Like me!  So I figured it out.  And I cut hundreds of
rolls.  Never heard any complaints so far.  That was years ago.

Frank Himpsl