The old-school mechanics of a player piano use a bellows and valve system to suck air through dozens of holes, making the action hit a string whenever a hole is present in the piano roll.

Dust was everywhere, and there was a gluey substance under the keys that prevented them from working,” said passenger Josiah ...

This piano sounded terrible, and the keys felt really sticky. At the time, I was 17 years old and I was just starting to learn how to tune and repair pianos, so I made a mental note of it and ...