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

Player pianos have space for just one piano roll, so when the track you’re playing runs out, you’re forced into a moment of awkward silence as you wait for the instrument’s spool to rewind so you can swap in the next track.

From Los Angeles Times

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

Few producer-arrangers compared to Bell in setting a mood - whether the celebratory strings and horns kicking off the Spinners’ “Mighty Love,” the deadly piano roll at the start of the O’Jays’ “Back Stabbers” or the blissful oboe of “Betcha by Golly, Wow,” a soulful dreamland suggesting a Walt Disney film scored by Smokey Robinson.

From Washington Times

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

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