Street Instruments

Automatic Music

Street Instruments

The Player Piano

Orchestrions

The Violin Player

Orchestrelles

Residence Organs

Theatre Organs

During the nineteenth century, automatic musical instruments appeared in the streets.

Small Barrel Pianos, like the Hicks piano, were carried by means of a leather strap, whilst the larger, like the Tomasso piano, would have been slid into a low slung two wheeled cart.

Early street instruments were operated by turning a cranked handle and the music was pinned on a large wooden cylinder (known as a 'barrel'). The sounds were produced by means of hammers which struck steel strings stretched across a stout frame. However, rather than being covered with soft felt, the hammers were often faced with leather or wood so that a loud, penetrating sound was produced which would carry well in a noisy street.

Barrel organs were popular too and would contain reeds or tiny organ pipes instead of strings.

Paper music rolls were never very popular for street instruments since they were too fragile, and too susceptible to damage by rain. Pinned wooden barrels remained in use until the end.

The street barrel organ finally evolved into the mammoth fairground organs which are still affectionately remembered and which can still be seen and heard at open air steam rallies during summer months. These use folded cardboard book music, invented by Gavioli during the 1890's and which can still be seen in use today in the streets of Amsterdam.

(The name 'Hurdy-Gurdy' is often wrongly given to these street instruments. The true Hurdy-Gurdy is a non-automatic, stringed musical instrument of great antiquity, the playing technique

The Tomasso Street Barrel Piano

This particular instrument was donated to The Musical Museum by Mrs Rees of the London branch of the Tomasso family. It was probably made about 1880.

The tune is selected by turning a small handle which moves the barrel a small distance to align the pins of the tune with the 'keys' of the piano. It is played by turning the larger handle on the front of the instrument.

You can see where the timber has been smoothed away by the operator’s hand constantly stroking the corner, or where the monkeys claws have scratched the surface as it fidgeted waiting to perform its trick for another customer.

Great score marks show where the cart wheel ground its way into the timber casing following an accident. There are even scorch marks where it has been too close to a fire.

The barrel has some ten tunes including: When Irish Eyes are Smiling, Roll Out the Barrel and My Old Man Said Follow the Band - and of course, the monkey.

Since arriving at The Museum it has regularly entertained visitors and invokes memories from older patrons who remember them in the streets in their childhood. To hear them in the street today is a very rare occurrence but we still take ours out to promote the Museum or as part of a street organ festival.