Conlon Nancarrow: Study # 8 for Player Piano

A cut-away view of an Aeolian Player Mechanism in 1914
(Courtesy of the Pianola Institute)

The first acceleration study (Kyle Gann: Annotated List of Works)

One of Nancarrow's most important early studies, where for the first time he employs techniques that later would assume central significance: the canon form and continuous velocity shifts; the composition is mostly in three parts; for the first time Nancarrow does not employ bar lines and conventional note script in the notation - he indicates the note lengths with strokes after the notes (Jürgen Hocker)

Study # 8 for player piano (video by playerpianoJH)

(Conlon Nancarrow)