[ Ref. 201203 MMD, William Gaddis Writing About the Player Piano
 [ Robbie remarked:

> Gaddis wrote the dramatic monologue about aspects of corporate
> technological cultures that are uniquely destructive of the arts.
> But I prefer to believe that the player piano actually furthered
> the genre of mechanical music.

And music in general, I would think. My father told the story --
apparently true -- about a pianist who was exceedingly talented but
who had very small hands. He thus had a piano made to fit him and
would bring it with him on his concert tours. At one point critics
complained that his use of the narrowed piano was unfair to other
pianists.

There's some of that in Mr. Gaddis' criticism which, as people have
always tried to do, adds a component of personal valor to music so
that it becomes a competitive sport rather than an art form. This is
happening throughout music, where everyone wants to hear the youngest
possible violinist or pianist play something that's difficult.

I hadn't personally noticed that the level of effort in producing it
added anything to music.

Mark Kinsler