Book music
Encyclopedia
Book Music is a medium for storing the music played on mechanical organ
s, mainly of Europe
an manufacture. Book music is made from thick cardboard, containing perforated holes representing the musical notes to be played, with the book folded zig-zag style. Unlike the heavy pinned barrels
, which could only contain a few tunes of fixed length, that had been used on earlier instruments, book music enabled large repertoires to be built up. The length of each tune was no longer determined by the physical dimensions of the instrument.
In 1892, organ maker Anselmo Gavioli
patent
ed the "book organ," with a series of folded sheets of cardboard. Holes punched on the pages of the folded book allowed air to pass through, to make the pipes of the organ sound. The development marked a turning point in the history of the mechanical organ, and made Gavioli, until their demise in 1910, the most famous and prolific fair-organ builders.
Book Music was the most commonly used medium for large instruments. Used extensively by fairground
and street organ makers, book music was also used by Henri Fourneaux in 1863 in his Pianista
.
One of the advantages of book music is that it can be mechanically interpreted. Keys, small levers which rock upwards when a hole passes by, run underneath the book. This motion then mechanically opens the valves of the organ.
Paper rolls on the other hand are "key-less" and are generally only read by pneumatic pressure or suction. Some mechanical organs, particularly those of German manufacture by firms such as Gbr Bruder and Ruth, play keyless cardboard book music, operating pneumatically.
The disadvantage of book music, compared to paper rolls, is the increased size and weight to store an equivalent amount of music. The major advantage of book music, however, is that it is sturdy and not subject to expansion and contraction with humidity
. In addition, it is not necessary to rewind a book after playing; therefore, a musical performance may continue almost immediately without a prolonged break (while the instrument is occupied with rewinding the roll). This allows for large books and sets of books to be manufactured, allowing musically versatile capabilities. In Europe the book format, rather than the roll, is the preferred method of operating all but the smallest instruments designed for outdoor use.
Mechanical organ
A mechanical organ is an organ that is self playing, rather than played by a musician.Usually, mechanical organs are pipe organs although some instruments were built using reeds similar to those found in a harmonium. Since the 1950s, some instruments have been built using electronics to generate...
s, mainly of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an manufacture. Book music is made from thick cardboard, containing perforated holes representing the musical notes to be played, with the book folded zig-zag style. Unlike the heavy pinned barrels
Barrel organ
A barrel organ is a mechanical musical instrument consisting of bellows and one or more ranks of pipes housed in a case, usually of wood, and often highly decorated...
, which could only contain a few tunes of fixed length, that had been used on earlier instruments, book music enabled large repertoires to be built up. The length of each tune was no longer determined by the physical dimensions of the instrument.
In 1892, organ maker Anselmo Gavioli
Gavioli
Gavioli & Cie were a Franco–Italian organ builder company that manufactured fairground organs in both Italy and later France.Gavioli was founded in 1806 in Modena, Italy, by Giacomo Gavioli . Giacamo's hobby was the development of automatic playing musical instruments like bird organs and flute...
patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
ed the "book organ," with a series of folded sheets of cardboard. Holes punched on the pages of the folded book allowed air to pass through, to make the pipes of the organ sound. The development marked a turning point in the history of the mechanical organ, and made Gavioli, until their demise in 1910, the most famous and prolific fair-organ builders.
Book Music was the most commonly used medium for large instruments. Used extensively by fairground
Funfair
A funfair or simply "fair" is a small to medium sized travelling show primarily composed of stalls and other amusements. Larger fairs such as the permanent fairs of cities and seaside resorts might be called a fairground, although technically this should refer to the land where a fair is...
and street organ makers, book music was also used by Henri Fourneaux in 1863 in his Pianista
Player piano
A player piano is a self-playing piano, containing a pneumatic or electro-mechanical mechanism that operates the piano action via pre-programmed music perforated paper, or in rare instances, metallic rolls. The rise of the player piano grew with the rise of the mass-produced piano for the home in...
.
One of the advantages of book music is that it can be mechanically interpreted. Keys, small levers which rock upwards when a hole passes by, run underneath the book. This motion then mechanically opens the valves of the organ.
Paper rolls on the other hand are "key-less" and are generally only read by pneumatic pressure or suction. Some mechanical organs, particularly those of German manufacture by firms such as Gbr Bruder and Ruth, play keyless cardboard book music, operating pneumatically.
The disadvantage of book music, compared to paper rolls, is the increased size and weight to store an equivalent amount of music. The major advantage of book music, however, is that it is sturdy and not subject to expansion and contraction with humidity
Humidity
Humidity is a term for the amount of water vapor in the air, and can refer to any one of several measurements of humidity. Formally, humid air is not "moist air" but a mixture of water vapor and other constituents of air, and humidity is defined in terms of the water content of this mixture,...
. In addition, it is not necessary to rewind a book after playing; therefore, a musical performance may continue almost immediately without a prolonged break (while the instrument is occupied with rewinding the roll). This allows for large books and sets of books to be manufactured, allowing musically versatile capabilities. In Europe the book format, rather than the roll, is the preferred method of operating all but the smallest instruments designed for outdoor use.
See also
- Punched cardPunched cardA punched card, punch card, IBM card, or Hollerith card is a piece of stiff paper that contains digital information represented by the presence or absence of holes in predefined positions...
- Book music was originally developed by taping a stack of punched cards together. - Punched tapePunched tapePunched tape or paper tape is an obsolete form of data storage, consisting of a long strip of paper in which holes are punched to store data...
- Player pianoPlayer pianoA player piano is a self-playing piano, containing a pneumatic or electro-mechanical mechanism that operates the piano action via pre-programmed music perforated paper, or in rare instances, metallic rolls. The rise of the player piano grew with the rise of the mass-produced piano for the home in...