player piano

American  

noun

1. a piano that can play automatically when the keys are actuated electronically or by a pneumatic device controlled by a piano roll.

---

player piano British  

noun

1. a mechanical piano; Pianola

---

Etymology

Origin of player piano

An Americanism dating back to 1900–05

Example Sentences

The player piano and the phonograph not only introduced recorded music to a mass audience, they also prepared the way for machines to become integrated into musical creation.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 14, 2026

Any piece for so many pianos is bound to call to mind Conlon Nancarrow, an American composer who wrote vastly complex music for the player piano.

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

Inspired by the player piano in Mr. Sidner’s office, the project, she said, explores “music as craft.”

From New York Times • Sep. 2, 2021

He invented, for example, a player organ: an organ which, like a player piano, automatically played music according to the information conveyed by pins on a turning drum.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton