New 2010 Reliance music rolls available played by James P. Johnson & Les Copeland! Click here
Lost roll played by Scott Joplin discovered! Click here

Welcome to pianola.co.nz! Here you can listen to the performances of the great pianists and arrangers of the past,  converted from the original player piano rolls to modern MIDI format!

The player piano had its heyday between 1900 and 1930, when it brought music to the home prior to recorded music becoming widely available (and of acceptable sound quality). During this time, literally millions of piano rolls, recorded and arranged by some of the most famous pianists of the era, were produced by dozens of music roll companies. Music to suit every taste was available, from classical to ragtime to the popular hits of the day.

Now, over 100 years after the player piano was invented, time has taken its toll on the paper music rolls. Thanks to the dedication of enthusiasts worldwide, the technology now exists to preserve this wonderful music for all time, using custom-built optical scanners and software. What you hear on your computer is exactly what was recorded or arranged onto roll, in many cases over 90 years ago.

I've made these scanned piano rolls available for all to download and listen to, free of charge. All I request in return is that, if you enjoy the music, you sign my guestbook and let me know.

To start listening, click the 'Piano Roll MIDI scans' link on the menu at the top of the page. Other interesting parts of the site include the Piano Roll Artists page, where you can read biographical details about some of the pianists who made the rolls. Want to watch the piano keys move on your screen as the music plays, just like a real player piano, while viewing the full details of each rollscan? Click here to download the best MIDI player in the world - and it's free!

Enjoy the music!
 

SITE NEWS/ADDITIONS:
21 February 2010: New biographies of Imperial artist Jack Clyde and Ideal/Jewel artist Ed. Sheppard ("L. Bradley") added.
07 February 2010: First zipfile from the Erik York collection available for download - the files within will be progressively added to the main database.
01 February 2010: 2009 zipfile now available for download - contains all 166 of my 2009 scans. Hilda Myers biography updated.
31 January 2010: New biographies of Vocalstyle artist Ruth Mack and Capitol/Supertone artist Bonnie Bergstrom added
25 January 2010: Over 30 new rollscans. Biography of Columbia/Supertone artist Marg. Thompson added
29 June 2009: Over 50 new rollscans!
02 May 2009: 43 more rollscans added!

To search or listen to the complete archive of over 400 scanned piano rolls, visit the Piano Roll MIDI Scans page. Below, you'll find a small selection of my latest scans.