A player piano is a type of mechanical piano. When you press the pedals, air is forced through holes in a roll of paper to press the keys and play a tune.
[mainly US]regional note: in BRIT, usually use pianola
player piano in British English
noun
a mechanical piano; Pianola
player piano in American English
US
a piano that can play automatically by means of a built-in pneumatic mechanism that depresses the keys in response to signals on a perforated roll
Examples of 'player piano' in a sentence
player piano
Farther in, a player piano was playing something that was intended to be Ravel's Bolero.