HOW TO PLAY THE ODEOLA

To pedal properly, you need the right seat

The seat must allow the player to be able to pedal easily and without fatigue. A regular piano tabouret 
is not practical.  It is preferable to use a specially designed bench featuring a slightly forward slanted 
top. It must be positioned far enough from the piano in order to avoid one's knees from hitting the edge 
of the key board.


To open the ODEOLA

After sliding open the piano inferior panel, using your foot, pull out the pedals until they come to a rest 
on the floor. Then flip open the narrow panel at the edge of the key board in order to expose the levers 
and then open the door to give access to the brass reader called "flūte de pan", on which the paper roll 
will slide.


Roll placement

To install the roll in the brass reader box, hold it such as for the title label to be readable. Note that the 
spools at the ends of the roll are similar, but with a slight difference: the one on the right has a slotted 
end. First slide the left end onto the receiving socket. A slight pressure on the left receiving socket will 
compress a spring allowing the insertion of the right end onto its slotted socket. We then free the brass 
cylinder onto which the paper roll will spool, by pushing to the right the clutch lever under the brass roll. 
We then hook the ring at the beginning of the music roll to the hook on the brass roll, turning the roll 
manually until the paper roll covers all the holes on the brass reader. At this point, we then push the 
clutch lever to the left


About levers

Before starting pedal action, we must know the function of each lever.

The first one on the left activates the loud pedal (F).

The second and third levers, which are superposed, are "expression" levers. Their purpose is to reduce 
the loudness. The "B" lever will soften the lower keys of the board. The "D" lever will soften the upper keys 
of the board. In their natural (inactivated) position, they are in the loud position.

The "V" lever controls the speed (the measure). It acts on the winding speed of the roll by slowing the 
motor if we shift it to the left and by accelerating the motor if we shift it to the right. The movements of 
the lever are transmitted to a needle which moves on a graded scale which the numbers correspond to 
those printed on the music paper roll.

The "P" lever (pianissimo) acts on the piano soft pedal and produces the pianissimo.


About the pedals

After placing the needle with the "V" lever onto the number indicated on the music roll, we start pedaling. 
The music roll starts winding up onto the brass cylinder and as the perforations in the music roll pass 
over the holes in the brass reader, the hammers start hitting the piano strings.

We must insist on the importance of pedaling properly. We must remind ourselves that the artistic rendition 
of the musical play is dependant on the way we pedal. We must hold a proper and comfortable position in 
order to avoid any fatigue. Therefore we must position our feet such that the heels are slightly above the 
lower edge of the pedals. Keep the feet flat and never lift the heels in order to pedal from the tip of the feet 
or by pushing with the legs. The movement shall be provided by rocking the ankle. Give the pedals full course
and not short staccato strokes that will cause fatigue to the executor and will render poor performance of the 
piano.

Even though the bulk of the variations will be obtained by manipulating the various levers, it is possible to 
further enhance the play by pedaling with more or less energy. In any case, it is evident that to play softly, 
piano, we should pedal slower than when we want to play loud, and that to play pianissimo, we must pedal 
even slower. In other words, the pedaling speed will dictate the result we get from the piano. Should we want 
to accentuate a certain note or chord, all that is required is to give a brisk push on the pedals right at the 
moment that note or chord will pass over the brass reader holes an by releasing the levers if these were set 
to piano. For pianissimo, pedal slowly but consistently. Add a pinch of lever "P" as needed.

All these indications won't be immediately feasible for the novice, but we wish to warn about the poor habit 
of pedaling uniformly, which gives a terribly monotone, bland, mechanical result. The pedaling has no 
influence on the speed, which remains the same regardless of the vigour applied to the pedals.


About the tempo

We previously mentioned that the music roll indicates the tempo by a number printed at its beginning. This 
tempo is not cast in stone. It is simply an indication and the executor remains the master, using his personal 
judgement. We will look later at a chart describing different tempos with a brief explanation.

We must also convince ourselves that the "V" lever has a great role to play in the execution. To make smart 
use of it, we must know how to rhythm, modify, slow down at the end of a chorus, etc. As the tempo numbers 
are of general nature, we must not follow the diligently, but rather let the player put his personal inclination to
the rendition.