I was walking through the Chicago airport the other day and heard a piano. Excited that the airport was so progressive and arts-minded, I went to go check it out. Turns out, it was a real instrument, just played by some fancy computer machine.
This got me thinking - how did musicians respond when the first player pianos were introduced in the late 1800s? Did these machines get popular enough to feel threatening to musicians - barroom or otherwise? Or, were these machines just a novelty for the wealthy? Did anyone publicly speak for or against player pianos?
Automatic playing machines are much older than the player pianos from the late 1800s. However, they were mostly seen as a curiosity and not much came out of that.
In the 19th century, the piano became very popular. Pianos became more and more affordable, and more people were having pianos in their homes. If you wanted music, you had to either play it yourself or get somebody to do it... Many people obviously learned to play and the piano was at the center of the domestic music life for many.
Piano player systems became available about the time phonographs and gramophones did. The piano player systems obviously offered higher sound quality and a lot of people already had pianos.
At first the systems had no "expression" capabilities. That means you were getting robotic speed and volume by default. However, the machines had controls and you could add "expression." You could have a piano and play it without actually having to learn how to play it! It was an interactive experience and you were actually being part of the performance. Quite a different experience from the one offered by phonographs and such.
Piano playing systems sold quite well (first as big things you had to put in front of a piano, and then as part of the guts of the instrument). I think pianos with factory installed playing systems outsold "regular" pianos at some point.
This invention was seen as a threat by some, not just to the working musicians and teachers but to music itself. You can read John Philip Sousa's reaction to recorded music (including player pianos).
Many famous pianists recorded in piano rolls. We are now able to at least get an idea of how they played thanks to this.
Some composers even started composing music for player pianos, it was obvious the player pianos could do things pianists couldn't and many took advantage of this new way to make music. Stravinsky rewrote some of his music to be played by player pianos. Conlon Nancarrow is known for his player piano music.
The player piano industry was killed by the Great Depression and the radio. People started to get their music from cheaper, even easier to use sources...