Story & Clark / QRS DISCOVER THE LEGEND. DISCOVER THE FUN. EST 1857
History of the Player Piano
Story & Clark Pianos
are a subsidiary of QRS
Since 1857, when Hampton L. Story built his first piano, discriminating purchasers have marvelled at the fine craftsmanship that makes every Story & Clark piano a treasure. Photos are Hampton Story and son Edward Story
and Melville Clark
QRS was founded in 1900 by Melville Clark (of Story & Clark piano fame) who developed the player piano as we know it today. QRS supplied music rolls to the player piano market, with production peaking in 1927, when QRS Music Company sold 10 million rolls.
Melville Clark
World's First
Melville Clark builds the first 88 note player piano. 1901
World's First
Melville Clark introduced his first Apollo Player built in to a grand piano 19 December 1906
World's Largest
QRS supplied music rolls to the player piano market, with production peaking in 1926, when QRS Music Company sold 10 million rolls. by 1927 QRS had purchased 25 other companies and became the worlds largest piano roll factory.
Today, QRS is not only the world’s oldest and largest manufacturer of player piano rolls; it is a leader in contemporary player piano technology. It all began with our founder, Melville Clark, who developed the pneumatic player piano as we know it today.
This is an extremely historically important instrument. The Storytone piano was built in 1939 in a joint venture between Story & Clark and RCA - the piano has normal strings and action but no soundboard - the sound is amplified by pickups and a speaker system making it the world's first practical electric piano. The sound is very beautiful considering its design during the infancy of amplified instruments
VIDEO TOUR OF
QRS ROLLS
This is a Story & Clark Canada information site. For the QRS USA Corporate site go to QRSMusic.com
The Worlds Most Advanced Line Of Player Products
1916: Melville Clarks QRS Company Prints Song Lyrics on its piano rolls starting the 1st Karaoke Craze
With the simple pull of a lever, you can play your piano silently,
hearing your performance exclusively through headphones. SilentPNO dramatically reduces the sound of your acoustic piano without interfering with the normal piano action, making it ideal for silent or private piano practice sessions.
A small unobtrusive knob underneath the piano keyboard is used to activate the SilentPNO function which prevents the hammers from striking the strings when the piano keys are depressed. Available on all Story & Clark grand pianos and upright pianos.
