Holy crap, I think you're right. From now on, when I hear somebody say "old-school DJ," I'm just going to think, "Not unless s/he's using a fotoplayer."
@@ButtonsKing hes hitting that kick drum to the right the strings are the percussion a real skilled person can make this machine sound amazing like this if u dont know what u are doing it wont sound good at all
These things were made for what would otherwise be silent movies back in the 1920s, they'd hire a guy to play along with whatever they were showing But then someone figured out how to just add the sound to film, fotoplayers stopped being made, and according to wikipedia there are only ~12 left in the world that work
Imagine being a bloke in the 1900s walk into a cinema and then stare in awe at the man making an entire orchestra while pictures play like a video Infront of you
02:18 "I believe it's pronoucned as FOOCHEEK". As a Czech that moment really put a smile on my face especially with the way he turned to the camera right afterwards.
Hi , Thank you for the kind words and interest! I'm hoping that Scott Lasky, who is responsible for all of the great recording and uploading, might be able to get a few more uploaded soon, if they all haven't already been uploaded. I am currently doing a rebuild on my Fotoplayer because the restoration is over 40 years old. As soon as this is completed I'm ready to make some more recordings. Thanks again for listening!
I really appreciate you inviting us into your house and letting us enjoy you and your wonderful machine! I am very thankful for devoted individuals like yourself who keep these ancient beauties and practices alive! As an engineer, I get a double whammy. I get to enjoy the music, and your talent, all the while enjoying pondering the various mechanisms at play to make this play :)
How can anyone NOT love this? This is the piece that instrument was built to play! I cannot listen to this without literally laughing out loud. This is what "happy" sounds like!
The fact is this musical piece was originally written as a military march. Julius Fučík sold rights to an American entertainment industry company, which thereby transformed it into what's called "Circus Music". I guess Julius thought of the great Roman Colloseum. Colloseums were kind of popular in Ancient Roman times, the largest one in the capital city wasn't the only one. They were often called "Circuses", because of the circular shape. The well known Colloseum was by far the largest one. I think this is where the word originates from, and also kind of explains why circuses have a circular shaped body. What's also quite remarkable is that Julius Fučík is mostly known for this specific piece, and nothing else. He's an uncle of a Czech journalist, quite coincidentaly named after him, Julius Fučík. They both were Czechs, however Julius Fučík Sr. travelled to New World (in other words to USA), while his nephew stayed home and later became famous for his writings. But most people do not even know who made this piece, and if they for some reason know, they don't know who he is, where he comes from, and generally do not know a general background of this musical piece. By far, this is my favourite, and not just because it happens to be domestic origin (yes, I am indeed Czech), but it has a catchy tune and I generally like circus music :)
Technically, the big Colosseum was named after a statue outside it called the Colossus, by people who dug it up and stripped the Colossus for metal. In the Roman period, the Colosseum was called the Flavian Amphitheatre!
The Colosseum might be more widely known; but there were also circuses in Rome too, such as the Circus Maximus, used primarily for racing. Circus is the root of circuit, as in racing circuit. But is synonymous with entertainment.
@@z3my4l more than that, i would surely have bugs in my mind if i lived in that epoch and saw gladiators entering the arena with axes and this song started to play
@@MrKlausbaudelaire en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circus_Maximus (TL;DR: In Ancient Rome, a "circus" was a stadium for things like chariot races (which *were* quite brutal) and gladiatorial combat... so it's not really a secret.)
There is a carousel in the city of Raleigh that had an antique band organ. I remember hearing and seeing a guy operating it as a kid, but they removed it and put it behind a glass case during a renovation project because it was over 100 years old.
I believe the instrument was made for silent films, so in a way, any of those that are preserved with this playing it's music, you've preserved the instrument too.
Well good news then. In most citys in the netherlands we have 'draaiorgels' (english: barrel orgel). That are machines similair to this one, but on wheels. They are mostly organs with some drum instruments included
Oh so this is like midi before computers. This is actually really amazing that this is all mechanical and programmed. I’ve seen a self playing piano, but this is insane!
Nothing at all like midi. It's a mechanical analog computer that produces sound by playing instruments. Midi simulates the sound of instruments by playing digital recordings and simulations through an audio amplification interface. Midi is an episode of the teletubbies, the photoplayer is a screening of "the wizard of oz" in full theatrical format.
@Mr-Trox no, it's a mechanical system that plays musical instruments. MIDI simulates the playing of instruments, by accessing sampled tone files, and compiling them for playback. You could, maybe, make a case for the roll being analog MIDI-ish, but the machine itself is a collection of ACTUAL instruments that are played by the machine. "Analog MIDI" would be a bank of recorders, each holding a single tone of a single instrument, being toggled on and off by a controller, the output being either compiled in a recording, or delivered to an amplification system for real-time exhibition. MIDI never plays any instrument. MIDI never vibrates air to produce sound. If you'd like, you could call a player piano, or a fotoplayer (entire system, including a roll) a "musical instrument analog interface" or MIAI, but it is NOT in any way "analog MIDI", which I described above. That you of the "digital generation" can't comprehend why it's completely different demonstrates your complete ignorance of previous technology. Would a calliope be a "steam MIDI"? A pipe organ "air MIDI"? SMH, such nitwittery
The Van Valkenburg brothers in Oakland, California invented the American Fotoplayer circa 1910. It took a few years to catch on, and for several years they were almost on their own producing this in their small factory (although, of course, orchestrions were being made by other companies at the same time). But, something happened around 1913-1914 to cause Wurlitzer, then Seeburg to take serious notice and jump on the bandwagon with their own photoplayers (although not called photoplayer as that was more or less trademarked). By late 1914 and 1915, almost everyone else had joined the race... they remained popular with nickelodeon and vaudeville theatres and smaller to medium size silent movie theatres until around 1921, when theatre pipe organs got popular enough that many photoplayers were traded in for small examples of those... by the advent of sound films in the late 1920s, relatively few photoplayers remained in service, and by the Depression, most of the ones that remained... were junked, and the pianos gutted and resold as 'straight' upright pianos secondhand. It is guesstimated that less than 2% of the 8,000 or so estimated photoplayers built (of all makes; American alone made around 4,500, from blower company sales records; Wurlitzer made around 2,000 from factory records), still exist today.
@@andrewbarrett1537 so sad...but that's what happens to big bulky high maintenance machines when they are deemed obsolete or whatever. Nobody has room to put them, nobody wants to pay money to store them, maintain them or have any practical use for or way to make money with them....uhg. Oh well....such is the way of past things. :(
@@pex_the_unalivedrunk6785 the upkeep is very hard to do. Same with gaviolis and other types of organs, like carousel type things. They are complicated devices with custom made parts. So it takes a master craftsman to rebuild and fit. Quite niche. An example of a great one and quite famous one back. In the day. But a good piece for it. ua-cam.com/video/JUf4rb5KJiU/v-deo.html
My grandmother had a 1920s baby grand piano that looked like a regular piano but actually had a player mechanism in it. I always wanted to see her put in the roll and make it work, which was slightly mysterious since (of course) no grandchildren were allowed to do that. The paper rolls had the song lyrics on them so you could stand or sit nearby and sing along which you watched the roll wind past. I experienced this from the late 1950s till her death in 1967.
This is the sound of the late 19th and early 20th century. It's wonderful that machines like these are still around and are cared for by dedicated people who share these remarkable machines with the rest of us.
I like how there's people that just radiate from such a positive energy and enthousiam for their passion that you instantly fall in love with their content and you binge watch the 56 videos they posted even tho it's 4 am in your country. Good play sir, your laugh make me subscribe.
So THAT'S what that tune is called! I've literally wondered my entire life what the name of the sterotypical circus song was named, but now I know. Thanks to this video.
That kind of.. "chorus" effect (another instrument of some kind dropping in I'm guessing) actually sounds quite amazing, even to a modern ear raised on an electronic diet. I applaud the gentleman who preserved this machine, and more importantly the knowledge surrounding it. Joe, you're awesome. Never change.
As an ex-professional musican i think for planned performance peices or studio work or in fact even impromptus stuff that happens to be amped up via a mini pa style amp reverb and chorus can be the diffrence between a good performance and a professional sounding performance Test it out next time you hear a busker or a pub act, if they use reverb on an instrement or vocals it creates a better/less scattered less muted sound where as chorus adds a. Fullness Even look at fairground organs often the main melody has a bass end and treble end chorus
Ah, one of those videos that appears on everyone's reccommended randomly after years and is never the video you were looking for, but the exact ome you needed for a smile on your face!
Less than twenty photoplayers of various brands (of the thousands built) still exist. Contrast that with somewhere between 200 and 300 theatre organs, of the thousands built. Photoplayers were much easier to haul out back to the dumpster. But yes, look up your local chapter of the ATOS (American Theatre Organ Society) and find a local theatre organ, which may be in a theatre, or in someone's home, and go play it. They usually schedule concerts for members, and (assuming you can play) "open console nights" for members to play. Theatre organs, like photoplayers, have drums, cymbals, percussions, and sound effects... but don't usually play a roll. You have to play them manually.
It's essentially a manually controlled piano console Orchestrion, right? The only thing that's really different, is the stops and traps are able to be manipulated by the operator. Creating a new version of it wouldn't be impossible I imagine.
??? There's a style 15 Fotoplayer on eBay right now. It's either the only one known to exist or one of two known, I forget which. It's their smallest regular model with drums. The two treble ranks of pipes are under the piano keyboard behind swell shades, and the bass 8' stopped bourdon is behind the piano soundboard in a shallow cabinet which also includes the bass drum, snare drum and cymbal. There are 61 (62?) flute pipes and 38 (37?) violin pipes total, plus the mandolin attachment on the piano, and the aforementioned drums and cymbal... MAYBE also a crash cymbal. It's a cute instrument. It's deeper than a standard piano BUT the back cabinet comes off for getting it thru doorways etc. And like all Fotoplayers it can use regular 88-note piano rolls (as well as the Filmusic Picturolls).
There are also some other photoplayers on mechanical music dealer sites and on Facebook groups. A good Facebook friend had a Wurlitzer style O with nearly complete side cabinets but a mostly gutted center piano unit (a switch from the usual case!) for sale on the mechanical music groups on Facebook like "Player Piano Enthusiast" for a while, and it sold pretty quick, like in less than a year. I'm pretty sure there are other ones out there for sale. You can also post a want ad in MMD (The Mechanical Music Digest) as well as in the AMICA and MBSI journals (Automatic Musical Instrument Collectors' Association; Musical Box Society International).
I just had a really rough evening, this got recommended me and soon as the melody swelled, I was filled with a child-like JOY. Such an impressive machine and so cool to hear this piece after playing it in high school long ago! Thank you for this!
Much like a live performance of Gallagher, you don't just listen to the American Fotoplayer, you experience it! What I truly love is watching other people share their passions.
Such a fabulous device! We are in your debt for keeping this great musical instrument in working condition, and playing such delightful music. Thank you!
I read in the period Baltimore Sun newspapers that one or two movie houses installed this device instead of the standard theater organ. So glad you made this video. They are very convincing and full sounding.
“ARE YOU _NOT_ ENTERTAINED??!” - Maximus Decimus Meridius, (commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions and loyal servant to the TRUE emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife.)
I'm the props master at the Public Theater and Shakespeare in the Park in NYC. I have to say thank you for what you are doing. You sir are a national treasure. Please let me know if there is an album I can buy or a place to donate.
WOW- That WAS GREAT JOE !!!!! You are a joy to watch. If I had one wish, it would be: Please thoroughly document the procedures AND THE HOW and WHY, so the design and the wonderful technology of that time is not "lost".
It's impossible to listen to this without breaking into a big smile, and by the end I was laughing, not in derision, but in delight! I will have to look for more of your videos. Bravo!!!
As a kid who grew up with a player piano at my family’s mountain retreat, this really tickled me. I don’t remember the brand, Baldwin maybe. My absolute favorite thing to do was grab any roll not meant for the harpsichord function and switch back and forth rather obnoxiously between the two. Also, the first time I was tall enough to reach the two pedals and operate it myself really stands out.
sometimes, I can't fall asleep, because of questions such as : "how do you call someone that plays the fotoplayer ? A fotoplayer-player ? Sounds redundant..."
Man those Robert Morton / Fotoplayer strings sound SO GOOD playing the high violin parts at the end, almost like real strings! On larger instruments with more ranks of string pipes, and in a good size theatre with good acoustics, the effect is even more realistic. I can hear how, with a good roll and good operator (and the swells put on) these could stand in for a small orchestra. Very nice!
They probably think you are dressed in a horizontally striped black and white outfit with a masquerade mask, and large moustache with twisted pointy ends, and a beret, chasing a monkey around trying to catch it in an oversized butterfly net. Oh, and you are in black and white. That's what I'd think if I heard that music coming from my neighbors house. Just saying...
That's amazing. I never imagined exactly how the musicalization, and the sound effects, of the silent films, were performed. Congratulations Mr. Rinaudo.
I like to imagine that Joe lives in a small one room apartment, dominated by his Fotoplayer, and that he is the bane of his neighbours’ existence.
This comment is so funny omg 😭
@@eleri_theda It's really not.
@@richardmillhousenixon oh wow, someone is in a happy mood.
@@richardmillhousenixon I see how many likes your blistering sense of humor has earned you so far.
And then playing "Phantom of the Opera" at night! Mhuuhahaha.. ua-cam.com/video/j9qLfyLowjg/v-deo.html
Hit it Joe.
*And it was beautiful*
w h O s j 0 e
@@dtoskar
j 0 E m a M a
Who’s joe
@Harvey Davenport joe mama
Dude... this man is a DJ
Holy crap, I think you're right. From now on, when I hear somebody say "old-school DJ," I'm just going to think, "Not unless s/he's using a fotoplayer."
Yes, a real DJ!!!
At 3:30 it looks like he starts flushing a WC. :-))
@@ButtonsKing hes hitting that kick drum to the right the strings are the percussion a real skilled person can make this machine sound amazing like this
if u dont know what u are doing it wont sound good at all
@@Newberntrains I know, but the action looks funny though.
He is not the clown, he is the whole circus
The Circus Maximus if you will.
He is not the pianist, he is the whole orchestra.
watch what you say about a dead man
Hee not the gladiator, he is the entire arena.
@@Dannyx33444 tf is your problem
Mr Rinaudo is a show in himself. He so clearly loves what he's doing. He bounces, he laughs, he marks time. I love ya, Joe.
I believe the bouncing is to keep rhythm for the percussion
The guy looks like Wizard of Oz pulling all those levers and stops! Very cool.
He does not pull these stops, he pushes them
Pay no attention to the man in front of the keyboard...
zh84 You beat me to it. 🤣
Rebecca French wow - amazing observation!!! That’s too funny- and right on the money!!!
I think he might be a wizard alright
A fotoplayer is essentially an entire band condensed into one magical machine.
These things were made for what would otherwise be silent movies back in the 1920s, they'd hire a guy to play along with whatever they were showing
But then someone figured out how to just add the sound to film, fotoplayers stopped being made, and according to wikipedia there are only ~12 left in the world that work
@@frayzardi pray to god someone would learn how to make more bcs these are just fantastic
Yes
I can’t imagine the work and engineering it took to build something like that, what an amazing instrument
and free time
@@MrMad-lp7in or just pure insanity
Aliens?
I'm enamoured that the piano player by itself
Search "Marble Machines" and you will see some engineering magic
Imagine being a bloke in the 1900s walk into a cinema and then stare in awe at the man making an entire orchestra while pictures play like a video Infront of you
I was unaware such an instrument even exists. We owe this gentleman a debt of gratitude for preserving and playing this treasure for posterity.
Hell YEAH!!!
This may be the best video on the internet
02:18 "I believe it's pronoucned as FOOCHEEK". As a Czech that moment really put a smile on my face especially with the way he turned to the camera right afterwards.
Was that the correct pronunciation? I’m genuinely curious.
@@oilersridersbluejays It was, yeah. More emphasis on the EE part but the man got it correct.
I would have mispronounced the name by using English as my tongue.
@@bmar896 Not emphasis, just longer vocal, but I agree that other than that he pretty much nailed it.
@@Kara_Kay_Eschel Why?
Hi , Thank you for the kind words and interest! I'm hoping that Scott Lasky, who is responsible for all of the great recording and uploading, might be able to get a few more uploaded soon, if they all haven't already been uploaded. I am currently doing a rebuild on my Fotoplayer because the restoration is over 40 years old. As soon as this is completed I'm ready to make some more recordings. Thanks again for listening!
Joe, have you ever played a theater organ?
+Joe Rinaudo thank you for your music:)brilliant performance!!!!
I really appreciate you inviting us into your house and letting us enjoy you and your wonderful machine! I am very thankful for devoted individuals like yourself who keep these ancient beauties and practices alive!
As an engineer, I get a double whammy. I get to enjoy the music, and your talent, all the while enjoying pondering the various mechanisms at play to make this play :)
Just discovered these videos! Great work, wonderful to listen to and watch!
thank you so much for posting these. it feels like a trip back in time!
I love watching a charming enthusiast explain their hobby like this. There's too much awfulness in the world. We need more of this.
Plenty in Japan
100 percent
How can anyone NOT love this? This is the piece that instrument was built to play! I cannot listen to this without literally laughing out loud. This is what "happy" sounds like!
The fact is this musical piece was originally written as a military march. Julius Fučík sold rights to an American entertainment industry company, which thereby transformed it into what's called "Circus Music". I guess Julius thought of the great Roman Colloseum. Colloseums were kind of popular in Ancient Roman times, the largest one in the capital city wasn't the only one. They were often called "Circuses", because of the circular shape. The well known Colloseum was by far the largest one. I think this is where the word originates from, and also kind of explains why circuses have a circular shaped body. What's also quite remarkable is that Julius Fučík is mostly known for this specific piece, and nothing else. He's an uncle of a Czech journalist, quite coincidentaly named after him, Julius Fučík. They both were Czechs, however Julius Fučík Sr. travelled to New World (in other words to USA), while his nephew stayed home and later became famous for his writings. But most people do not even know who made this piece, and if they for some reason know, they don't know who he is, where he comes from, and generally do not know a general background of this musical piece. By far, this is my favourite, and not just because it happens to be domestic origin (yes, I am indeed Czech), but it has a catchy tune and I generally like circus music :)
Marek Poláček thank you for informing me on the origin!
Technically, the big Colosseum was named after a statue outside it called the Colossus, by people who dug it up and stripped the Colossus for metal. In the Roman period, the Colosseum was called the Flavian Amphitheatre!
So cool
The Colosseum might be more widely known; but there were also circuses in Rome too, such as the Circus Maximus, used primarily for racing. Circus is the root of circuit, as in racing circuit. But is synonymous with entertainment.
Thanks for the background
Thank you all for your kind words and love of this wonderful machine.
Thank you for keeping such a fascinating machine alive. You should start uploading to your account! Thanks again!
Rick Alky Thank you for listening! I'm still trying to figure out all of this uploading stuff. More to come soon!
+Joe Rinaudo Fantastic Joe!
Its a most wonderful machine. What a treasure to have a piece of history like this.
Crikey Joe you need some kind of medal from the Queen mate for keeping this thing going, I only hope your wife doesn`t mind.
The composer, Julius Fucik, was obsessed with the ancient Roman Empire, hence the name of this classic march.
How would he react to this, downgrade of his magnificent march of gladiators to a circus intro?
@@z3my4l What was Rome about, if not bread and *circuses* ?
maybe Julius knew a secret of history, that in rome the circus was more brutal or gladiators were funnier.
@@z3my4l more than that, i would surely have bugs in my mind if i lived in that epoch and saw gladiators entering the arena with axes and this song started to play
@@MrKlausbaudelaire en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circus_Maximus
(TL;DR: In Ancient Rome, a "circus" was a stadium for things like chariot races (which *were* quite brutal) and gladiatorial combat... so it's not really a secret.)
This is an instrument that should be in every town. It should be preserved for the historical and entertaining aspects.
There is a carousel in the city of Raleigh that had an antique band organ. I remember hearing and seeing a guy operating it as a kid, but they removed it and put it behind a glass case during a renovation project because it was over 100 years old.
I believe the instrument was made for silent films, so in a way, any of those that are preserved with this playing it's music, you've preserved the instrument too.
Well good news then. In most citys in the netherlands we have 'draaiorgels' (english: barrel orgel). That are machines similair to this one, but on wheels. They are mostly organs with some drum instruments included
I hate that we live in a world where they don't make things like this any longer
There is that guy that made the marble machine and that was a pretty unique and cool music machine
@@isaacwatanabe9599you mean this?: ua-cam.com/video/IvUU8joBb1Q/v-deo.htmlsi=YcR-MgQzozkyvJV1
@@isaacwatanabe9599it isn't the same
thye do make em
@@DimT670they do not. There's like 12 of these left in the world.
Very cool. They played this song at my graduation.
💀
You graduated from clown college
@@michaelmatthews1567 it's called correction
@@michaelmatthews1567 ok, so everybody knows you're not a musicians, especially not a classical musician.
@@michaelmatthews1567 The correct word is "petty" not "pedantic."
It’s good to see the wizard has been keeping busy since leaving Oz.
Oscar Diggs may have been a fraud but damn he could play
This is a treasure and should never be removed.
darkgaze Joe or the machine? They’re both priceless!
that thing looks so steampunk that it boggles my mind .
Badum csssh
@@jonasciliento336 badum brass*
Its called the Great Depression.
@@BbBbBbBbBbBbA what does the Great Depression have to do with this?
@@BbBbBbBbBbBbA That was much later than this song.
Oh so this is like midi before computers. This is actually really amazing that this is all mechanical and programmed. I’ve seen a self playing piano, but this is insane!
Nothing at all like midi. It's a mechanical analog computer that produces sound by playing instruments. Midi simulates the sound of instruments by playing digital recordings and simulations through an audio amplification interface. Midi is an episode of the teletubbies, the photoplayer is a screening of "the wizard of oz" in full theatrical format.
@@ludditeneaderthalSo it's analog MIDI then?
@@ludditeneaderthal....which is why they said "before computers" implying analog
@Mr-Trox no, it's a mechanical system that plays musical instruments. MIDI simulates the playing of instruments, by accessing sampled tone files, and compiling them for playback. You could, maybe, make a case for the roll being analog MIDI-ish, but the machine itself is a collection of ACTUAL instruments that are played by the machine. "Analog MIDI" would be a bank of recorders, each holding a single tone of a single instrument, being toggled on and off by a controller, the output being either compiled in a recording, or delivered to an amplification system for real-time exhibition. MIDI never plays any instrument. MIDI never vibrates air to produce sound. If you'd like, you could call a player piano, or a fotoplayer (entire system, including a roll) a "musical instrument analog interface" or MIAI, but it is NOT in any way "analog MIDI", which I described above. That you of the "digital generation" can't comprehend why it's completely different demonstrates your complete ignorance of previous technology. Would a calliope be a "steam MIDI"? A pipe organ "air MIDI"? SMH, such nitwittery
"you of the digital generation" completely negates everything else you said by becoming ad hominem and genetic fallacy...@@ludditeneaderthal
I like seeing how genuinely happy he is and everytime he smiles my face forces me to smile
This is quite possibly the coolest thing I've ever seen! What mad man built this masterpiece?!
Riight?? The engineering involved is on God-level!
The Van Valkenburg brothers in Oakland, California invented the American Fotoplayer circa 1910. It took a few years to catch on, and for several years they were almost on their own producing this in their small factory (although, of course, orchestrions were being made by other companies at the same time). But, something happened around 1913-1914 to cause Wurlitzer, then Seeburg to take serious notice and jump on the bandwagon with their own photoplayers (although not called photoplayer as that was more or less trademarked). By late 1914 and 1915, almost everyone else had joined the race... they remained popular with nickelodeon and vaudeville theatres and smaller to medium size silent movie theatres until around 1921, when theatre pipe organs got popular enough that many photoplayers were traded in for small examples of those... by the advent of sound films in the late 1920s, relatively few photoplayers remained in service, and by the Depression, most of the ones that remained... were junked, and the pianos gutted and resold as 'straight' upright pianos secondhand. It is guesstimated that less than 2% of the 8,000 or so estimated photoplayers built (of all makes; American alone made around 4,500, from blower company sales records; Wurlitzer made around 2,000 from factory records), still exist today.
@@andrewbarrett1537 so sad...but that's what happens to big bulky high maintenance machines when they are deemed obsolete or whatever. Nobody has room to put them, nobody wants to pay money to store them, maintain them or have any practical use for or way to make money with them....uhg. Oh well....such is the way of past things. :(
@@pex_the_unalivedrunk6785 the upkeep is very hard to do.
Same with gaviolis and other types of organs, like carousel type things.
They are complicated devices with custom made parts. So it takes a master craftsman to rebuild and fit. Quite niche.
An example of a great one and quite famous one back. In the day.
But a good piece for it.
ua-cam.com/video/JUf4rb5KJiU/v-deo.html
My grandmother had a 1920s baby grand piano that looked like a regular piano but actually had a player mechanism in it. I always wanted to see her put in the roll and make it work, which was slightly mysterious since (of course) no grandchildren were allowed to do that. The paper rolls had the song lyrics on them so you could stand or sit nearby and sing along which you watched the roll wind past. I experienced this from the late 1950s till her death in 1967.
That seems like such a great experience to have as a kid
this guy is so passionate about the instrument, so entertaining and fun to watch
This is the sound of the late 19th and early 20th century. It's wonderful that machines like these are still around and are cared for by dedicated people who share these remarkable machines with the rest of us.
Check out the Speelklok museum in Utrecht. It's full of this period of pieces and sounds.
I like how there's people that just radiate from such a positive energy and enthousiam for their passion that you instantly fall in love with their content and you binge watch the 56 videos they posted even tho it's 4 am in your country. Good play sir, your laugh make me subscribe.
So THAT'S what that tune is called! I've literally wondered my entire life what the name of the sterotypical circus song was named, but now I know. Thanks to this video.
That kind of.. "chorus" effect (another instrument of some kind dropping in I'm guessing) actually sounds quite amazing, even to a modern ear raised on an electronic diet. I applaud the gentleman who preserved this machine, and more importantly the knowledge surrounding it. Joe, you're awesome. Never change.
As an ex-professional musican i think for planned performance peices or studio work or in fact even impromptus stuff that happens to be amped up via a mini pa style amp reverb and chorus can be the diffrence between a good performance and a professional sounding performance
Test it out next time you hear a busker or a pub act, if they use reverb on an instrement or vocals it creates a better/less scattered less muted sound where as chorus adds a. Fullness
Even look at fairground organs often the main melody has a bass end and treble end chorus
back in 1897 this man is an DJ
Bless this man for keeping this amazing machine alive
Ah, one of those videos that appears on everyone's reccommended randomly after years and is never the video you were looking for, but the exact ome you needed for a smile on your face!
This just happened to me. ❤
I never knew anything like this existed. It must be worth a fortune.
Yes. As there might be only a few hundred of these machines left. With only very few in extremely good condition!
@@uncreativeusername7188
How?
@@uncreativeusername7188 WHAT!!! LoL Well, I get that actually playing a museum piece is frightening, still what a treat to hear it.
muito antigamente as maquinas de musica eram feitas para durar para sempre, não é atoa que a maquina ainda esta em perfeitas condições de uso.
He has had it since 1976 so I guess he knows what it can take.
I can't imagine the presence this must have in a room. like, I've heard player pianos play, and this must be staggering in comparison.
WE’RE GETTING OUTTA THE COLLOSEUM WITH THIS ONE 🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Not funny, didn't laugh
@@SilentPastry don’t care, didn’t ask + biden blast
@@SilentPastry don’t care, didn’t ask + biden blast
Someone: "What instrument do you play?"
Joe: "All of them"
Hit it Joe (Joe makes beautiful music, and they are truly works of art)
Apparently, none of these are up for auction/sale.
I'm devastated. Oh well. I'll just have to listen to youtube for the rest of my life.
Go get a player piano, an organ, and some drums, and make one!
Less than twenty photoplayers of various brands (of the thousands built) still exist. Contrast that with somewhere between 200 and 300 theatre organs, of the thousands built. Photoplayers were much easier to haul out back to the dumpster.
But yes, look up your local chapter of the ATOS (American Theatre Organ Society) and find a local theatre organ, which may be in a theatre, or in someone's home, and go play it. They usually schedule concerts for members, and (assuming you can play) "open console nights" for members to play. Theatre organs, like photoplayers, have drums, cymbals, percussions, and sound effects... but don't usually play a roll. You have to play them manually.
It's essentially a manually controlled piano console Orchestrion, right? The only thing that's really different, is the stops and traps are able to be manipulated by the operator.
Creating a new version of it wouldn't be impossible I imagine.
??? There's a style 15 Fotoplayer on eBay right now. It's either the only one known to exist or one of two known, I forget which. It's their smallest regular model with drums. The two treble ranks of pipes are under the piano keyboard behind swell shades, and the bass 8' stopped bourdon is behind the piano soundboard in a shallow cabinet which also includes the bass drum, snare drum and cymbal. There are 61 (62?) flute pipes and 38 (37?) violin pipes total, plus the mandolin attachment on the piano, and the aforementioned drums and cymbal... MAYBE also a crash cymbal. It's a cute instrument. It's deeper than a standard piano BUT the back cabinet comes off for getting it thru doorways etc. And like all Fotoplayers it can use regular 88-note piano rolls (as well as the Filmusic Picturolls).
There are also some other photoplayers on mechanical music dealer sites and on Facebook groups. A good Facebook friend had a Wurlitzer style O with nearly complete side cabinets but a mostly gutted center piano unit (a switch from the usual case!) for sale on the mechanical music groups on Facebook like "Player Piano Enthusiast" for a while, and it sold pretty quick, like in less than a year. I'm pretty sure there are other ones out there for sale. You can also post a want ad in MMD (The Mechanical Music Digest) as well as in the AMICA and MBSI journals (Automatic Musical Instrument Collectors' Association; Musical Box Society International).
If I had one of these, I could throw away my antidepressants!!!! Holy crap!!!!
your neighbours might start needing them though xD
@@Estlib You made me laugh!
Same here!
"if only I had a certain possession I wouldn't be depressed"
sunnyztmoney chill
Класс! Позитив, оптимизм. Благодарю композиторов, создателей инструмента и самого музыканта!
Joe is the most wholesome man I've ever seen on youtube. He isn't the actor, he's the whole show.
What an absolute boss on that fotoplayer!
I need one of this pianos in my house... And in my office, and in my car.
Heck I need one following me all day long!
I love calliopes and mechanical orchestras, but this one is spectacular! Thank you for sharing, you improved my day immensely.
"Merry-go-round 1 still hasnt been fixed, consider hiring more mechanics"
Medal deserved
Mr. Warmo THE RIDE NEVER ENDS!
Haha!
lmfaoooo
Rct
That 5 pistons on the right side of the photoplayer, is the most satisfying thing I've seen in my whole freaking life.
I just had a really rough evening, this got recommended me and soon as the melody swelled, I was filled with a child-like JOY. Such an impressive machine and so cool to hear this piece after playing it in high school long ago! Thank you for this!
please im begging make a studio recording. this is my favorite peice of classical music and hearing it done on the fotoplayer is truly magnificent
Both he and his instrument are classic and what a joy to see someone enjoy both music and machine thank you kind sir.
how in the hell I ended up here..... nice performance !
Much like a live performance of Gallagher, you don't just listen to the American Fotoplayer, you experience it! What I truly love is watching other people share their passions.
I could listen to him teach about this all day. He makes it so interesting!
This instrument really puts a smile on your face. Excellent job there, Joe.
Such a fabulous device! We are in your debt for keeping this great musical instrument in working condition, and playing such delightful music. Thank you!
2:49 Me taking life advice from other high schoolers.
I wonder ma eyes, just freezed and watched. Old is gold 😍
I was having a bad day today and thus popped up. Thank you for making my day so much better!
this has probily been the most underrated piece of music for the past 150+ years.
This instrument is AWESOME. I wish more of these were around. I would love to be your neighbor and hear this in person on a regular schedule.
I read in the period Baltimore Sun newspapers that one or two movie houses installed this device instead of the standard theater organ. So glad you made this video. They are very convincing and full sounding.
I clicked on one clip of joe and now I get recommended more and more of him, and I love it
OMG - I had never heard of an american Fotoplayer before. This is bloody fantastic! Thanks for sharing that with us.
“ARE YOU _NOT_ ENTERTAINED??!”
- Maximus Decimus Meridius, (commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions and loyal servant to the TRUE emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife.)
BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!!!💀
(Comodus)
I'm the props master at the Public Theater and Shakespeare in the Park in NYC. I have to say thank you for what you are doing. You sir are a national treasure. Please let me know if there is an album I can buy or a place to donate.
A masterpiece of engineering at its best! The company staff building this insane machine really had fun back then. Those were the heydays...
WOW- That WAS GREAT JOE !!!!!
You are a joy to watch.
If I had one wish, it would be:
Please thoroughly document the procedures AND THE HOW and WHY, so the design and the wonderful technology of that time is not "lost".
What a brilliant mind came up with this machine . It’s absolutely incredible. I’m here in tears looking at the mechanics of this just speechless
It's impossible to listen to this without breaking into a big smile, and by the end I was laughing, not in derision, but in delight! I will have to look for more of your videos. Bravo!!!
I always heard that played at the circus. That piano/organ really brings it out. WOW
"Hit it, Joe!"
This makes me very happy!
Recognized this from my middle school math teacher. Thank you! I forgot my red vines...even watching a second round.
I was looking for piano how to guides, when I came across this. I am thankful I did. Well done, it looked like fun.
As a kid who grew up with a player piano at my family’s mountain retreat, this really tickled me. I don’t remember the brand, Baldwin maybe. My absolute favorite thing to do was grab any roll not meant for the harpsichord function and switch back and forth rather obnoxiously between the two. Also, the first time I was tall enough to reach the two pedals and operate it myself really stands out.
Dear Santa, for Christmas this year...I WANT ONE OF THOSE!!!! O_O
It'sa time to get building then.
Only 50 000 000 dollar...
This is the 1st time I've ever seen someone play a full one of those properly. That was a pleasure to watch. Thank you 😊
I can’t explain how happy this makes me, this instrument is pure joy.
Get this man a History Channel show. This song slaps.
2:36 The happiest ice scream scoops I ever saw in my life. Look at them all "Yeeeeeeee"
sometimes, I can't fall asleep, because of questions such as : "how do you call someone that plays the fotoplayer ? A fotoplayer-player ? Sounds redundant..."
A Fotoplayerst.
You call them God
Fotoplayerer
Photoplayererist.... trust me, I'm a Photoplayerologist with a PHD in Photoplayerology and Photoplayeronomy.
A fotoplayer operator?
So glad the algorithm gave me this tonight.
Now i finally know how this song is called. Thank you for increasing my knowledge.
3:17 When I'm pretending to look busy when the boss walks by.
Imagine filing a noise complaint and all you can say is “they’re an entire fucking circus next door.”
Mr Rinaudo is a true american hero
Loved the show!
And now ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls - time for . . . the clowns!
The amount of moving parts in that thing is unreal
Man those Robert Morton / Fotoplayer strings sound SO GOOD playing the high violin parts at the end, almost like real strings! On larger instruments with more ranks of string pipes, and in a good size theatre with good acoustics, the effect is even more realistic. I can hear how, with a good roll and good operator (and the swells put on) these could stand in for a small orchestra. Very nice!
Well that was simply delightful, thank you.
Thank you and your are so welcome!
Great and wonderful instrument .The Acme of mecanics as watchmaking .Joe you
look like captain NEMO in his NAUTILUS ......
It’s amazing how the mic captured the audio so well, I want more…
damn... this man had an entire orchestra in one machine, respect to both the engineers of this beast and Mr. Rinaudo commanding it!!!
Bruh I could just imagine having this in an apartment building. My neighbours would love me when I have this blaring at 3AM.
Thanks very much for posting. I have heard this song in many ballparks, played on an organ, without knowing the title, or just how old the song was.
I accidently unplugged my headphones playing this on 80% max volume, I think my neighbors hate me now.
Fuck them !
Nah, they love your music so much that they're throwing stones through your windows so they can hear it louder!
They probably think you are dressed in a horizontally striped black and white outfit with a masquerade mask, and large moustache with twisted pointy ends, and a beret, chasing a monkey around trying to catch it in an oversized butterfly net. Oh, and you are in black and white. That's what I'd think if I heard that music coming from my neighbors house. Just saying...
That's amazing. I never imagined exactly how the musicalization, and the sound effects, of the silent films, were performed. Congratulations Mr. Rinaudo.
This is the most awesome thing I've seen in a long while. Great stuff! :D