A piano is usually played by a person sitting in front of it. But what if the pianist wasn't there? More than 100 years ago, people invented something called a player piano. It could play music all by itself! But there were no computers or phones to control it. Instead, the music was stored on a long roll of paper with lots of tiny holes in it. As the paper moved through the piano, the holes controlled the keys and made them move. Suddenly, a piano could play a whole piece of music without anyone sitting at the keyboard. Player pianos became very popular in homes during the early 1900s. It was a bit like having a giant musical robot in your living room!