Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2020/01/21/the-typewriter-by-leroy-ander.html
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For young 'uns that have never used one, I’ll point out that the little bell that he is manually ringing emulates the bell on a typewriter that warns the typist that he is approaching the end of a line and will have to operate the carriage return (the lever on the top) to start a new line. But of course because he is not typing the same number of characters between the bells he can’t use the automatic end of line bell.
Let’s see 40 wpm (competent, but hardly outstanding, even with a manual typewriter) x 5 characters per word, divided by 60 seconds is 3.2 beats per second. I have certainly heard typists typing faster than this man is and that includes time to re position your fingers onto the correct keys…
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Why would you even think to use stenographers to play music? You wouldn’t use a musician as a court reporter. I think Anderson probably meant that stenographers couldn’t keep a metronomic beat, not that they weren’t fast enough. He obviously never considered auditioning stenographers anyway, when he had a full orchestra of musicians to choose from.
I think the average human, whether musician, stenographer, or neither, could easily keep up with the piece’s tempo. For the sense of timing needed for the whole piece, you’d want a musician. Percussionist, piano player, or anyone who wanted to take up the typewriter. Could be a bassist or an accordian player, doesn’t matter much. Musicians who double on harmonica don’t have to be sax players after all.
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I don’t think typists move their forearms around as much as the people who play this piece do. Most of their movement is fingers/wrists, with the occasional move to the carriage return. This has much more rhythmic, syncopated movement, back and forth between the hands. I can see it being difficult for a typist with little to no musical background. But I’m a woodwind player, not a percussionist, and I think I could play it.
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I know it as the theme music to BBC Radio 4’s News Quiz
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On a manual typer… maybe. Manual machines require a quick strike with the finger to trigger the movement of the key lever mechanism. Imagine poking something hot, and you’ll get the motion. It’s very different from electric machines, and again from modern keyboards.
Our NaNoWriMo Typewriter Brigade has many manual-machine users, myself included. There’s more arm motion than you might expect, though less than if we were on stage, I’m sure. My work keyboards suffer every November as I adjust my touch back and forth.
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Exactly. A short, sharp percussive sound will expose the tiniest deviations from the tempo. You need a musician, and probably a percussionist, to do this right. Because basically, the composer has treated the typewriter as a percussion instrument.
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The machines are typically rigged, too: the drawband or cord is disconnected so the carriage doesn’t move, and the performer is striking just two keys. And I’ve linked them before, but: Boston Typewriter Orchestra ftw.
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All kidding aside, the performances in the two vids are much too slow for my taste. 
I’ve been spoiled by Anderson’s own reading while conducting it himself and by his excellent orchestra; Track 10
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Liberace tiny candelabra was a nice touch, but the break where he pretended to white out a mistake was what really sold it. 
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