piano roll

American  

noun

1. a roll of paper containing perforations such that air passing through them actuates the keys of a player piano.

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piano roll British  

noun

1. Also called: music roll.  a perforated roll of paper actuating the playing mechanism of a Pianola

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Etymology

Origin of piano roll

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

He charms the staff with his knowledge of these obscure machines – pointing out the bellows that power a church organ, and the pneumatic underpinnings of a piano roll player.

From BBC • May 14, 2026

He made a once-popular parlor instrument brand new, punching every piano roll himself and then letting the machine play faster than any dozen real-life pianists could, making for palpable Niagaras of sound.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 6, 2025

Made of die-cut stainless steel, the design renders the player piano roll for the late-‘60s jazz standard “What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?” that was popularized by Barbra Streisand.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 12, 2022

From the piano roll days all the way to where we are now, technology advances, and we don’t have sufficient protections.

From The Verge • Feb. 22, 2022

Color tubes are spaced like holes on a player piano roll allowing pigments to tint the shell at the right spots in the growing design.

From Let's Collect Rocks and Shells by Shell Union Oil Corporation